What does the 4th of July mean to you?

Happy 4th of July!

When I think of the 4th of July, I always think of fireworks and eating outside with food cooked on the grill.

What are some of your memories from when you were a kid?

Here are some of mine:

Fireworks


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Good Food


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From childhood, mostly parades and fireworks.  We lived in a valley surrounded by high rocky bluffs, so every "boom" echoed off the cliffs and the noise was multiplied.  The local radio station always did fireworks "coverage" calling the bursts and colors.

In my teens I discovered that 4th of July pretty lines up with black cap raspberry season and would go looking for them then. I still think of this as berry season. I don't really go for the rah-rah patriotism on display, but I do like a good red-white-and-blue berry icebox cake with blackcap raspberries and redcurrants.

Hi Anne and everyone,

This simple question evokes such a complex answer for me, but the short version of that the 4th of July means a lot to me.  I sorta have a triple-whammy reasoning for the 4th being my favorite holiday.  

I was taught by my father from before I can remember about how lucky I am to be an American.  Much of the reasoning is that I was born and raised during the late phase on the Cold War.  I was taught about how lucky I was that in the United Stated I had rights that people on the other side of the Iron Curtain did not have (note:  I am saying this from a historical context.  Also in no way am I stating that people in other countries had no rights, simply that I was lucky to be an American. While I have a certain pride in my country, I fully understand and even expect others to have similar pride in their countries).  Though he was only an amateur historian, he was well read and I was the fortunate recipient of his lessons.  I realize that not everyone will agree with what my father taught or what he or I believe, but to me the 4th was always the beginning of a great history.

Stemming largely from this initial nascent interest, I became a high school history teacher and eventually earned a master's degree in history.  Teaching something for over 20 years really makes one appreciate it all the more.

Finally, I was born on the 4th of July.  Growing up, and to a degree still today, there was never a clear delineating line between where my birthday stopped and the 4th of July celebrations started.  I always felt lucky to have been born on the 4th of July.  We always had friends and family gathering, good food (food on the grill, corn on the cob, ripe fruit just picked etc.).  And to cap off the day of course, there are fireworks--and last night's were really quite good, especially as we had not seed them last year due to cancellations due to COVID.

Simple question, Long-winded answer.

Eric

Anne said, "When I think of the 4th of July, I always think of fireworks and eating outside with food cooked on the grill.

Since it is that time of year again, what it means to me this year is that our daughter will be coming by later today to bring our trailer back so we can go to the big city shopping sometime soon.

There will be no fireworks though we might throw something on the grill.

Freedom and Liberty.....Bill of Rights.....

This holiday, along with other political celebrations in this country, leads me to think of our freedoms and also serves as a reminder that interpretations of our history are always worth revisiting in a more fair and rational way as times change and people are more aware.

I never understood cooking outdoors in the summer heat over a hot fire as something special...been there, done that

The 4th of July was my paternal grandmother's birthday, so my childhood memories of the holiday are all about family get-togethers.

Also, the time I was gently mocked for asking my mom what the date of Fourth-of-july was because to me it was just the name of a holiday, not three words telling me the date. :-D

Now it's just a day off work, which is pretty OK.

Ultimately, it is probably why I am a homesteader.  We lived for a little over 2 years on “the farm”, and those years are what I identify as my childhood.    On the days before before July 4 us kids would search the ditches for pop bottles ( 3 cents for Pepsi, and 2 cents for all others), cash them in, and buy hot dogs and marshmallows.  0n the eve of July 4 we would build a bonfire , roast the hot dogs, and marshmallows on sticks, tell stories, and stay up past midnight.  Of course, extra money went for sparklers and firecrackers.

Dennis Goyette wrote:Freedom and Liberty.....Bill of Rights.....

The date of the Bill of Rights was December 15, 1791,

On December 15, 1791, three-fourths of the existing State legislatures ratified the first 10 Amendments of the Constitution—the Bill of Rights.

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/bill-of-rights-day.html

Hey, folks! Happy July 4th to my American neighbours.!

Of course above the 49th we're all back to the grind since Canada Day/Dominion Day was on July 1.

But when I look at the serious BBQ in the pics I wouldn't mind a combined holiday that extended for a whole week, celebrating our democracies. Bon appetit!

Cheers everyone!

P.S., the same applies to our Thanksgiving holidays. Can I handle turkey and stuffing twice? Damn right I can!