Parkview Healthcare Facility's Parkview Outlook July 2015 | Page 3

3 Happy Independence Day! 2015 The Beginning The official, legal separation from England actually occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress approved Virginia representative Richard Henry Lee’s resolution to declare the United States a free and independent nation. But the Declaration of Independence was not finalized and signed until two days later, on July 4, 1776, the date Americans have been celebrating ever since. Beginning in 1777, the Continental Army garrison in Bristol, Rhode Island, fired a 13-gun salute, one shot for each of the colonies, at dawn and again at dusk. In Philadelphia, home of the Continental Congress, a formal dinner was served, with speeches, parades, troop reviews and gun salutes, festive music, solemn prayers, and fireworks. A year later, General George Washington celebrated with his men near New Brunswick, New Jersey, by giving each a double ration of rum. And John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, ambassadors to France, enjoyed a lively dinner with fellow Americans in Paris. Massachusetts became the first state to officially recognize July 4 as a state holiday in 1781. But nobody called it Independence Day until 1791. And it took more than 100 years before the United States Congress made it a holiday—unpaid—for federal workers. In 1938, Congress voted to make the Fourth of July an official paid holiday for federal employees. Celebrating with a B ang Parades, picnics, barbecues, music, and most of all, fireworks, make the Fourth of July a special celebration across the country. Since 1976, New York City has had the largest fireworks display. Sponsored by Macy’s, it an explosive extravaganza with more than 22 tons of colorful pyrotechnics exploded over the East River. The Boston Pops Orchestra’s yearly music and fireworks celebration over the Charles River Esplanade in Boston has been televised nationally since 1973. And, of course, fireworks on the Capitol lawn in Washington, D.C., typically attract more than a half a million people. Detroit celebrates with its Canadian sister-city Windsor, Ontario, commemorating the Fourth of July and Canada Day (July 1) in a blowout called the International Freedom Festival. Fireworks ignited on barges floating on the Detroit River between the two cities create a fitting and spectacular end to the celebration. Information shared from Activity Connection.com