Happy 4th of July! Celebrate America's Birthday!

                 

           

             

                              



             Independence Day is the birthday of the United 
             States of America. It is celebrated on July 4th 
             each year in the United States. It is the 
             anniversary of the day on which the Declaration 
             of Independence was adopted by the Continental 
             Congress - July 4, 1776...anouncing to the world 
             that the 13 colonies no longer belonged to Great 
             Britain.  Independence Day was first observed in 
             Philadelphia on July 8, 1776. 
     

             On July 4, 1777, the night sky of Philadelphia 
             lit up with the blaze of bonfires below. Candles 
             illuminated the windows of houses and public 
             buildings. Church bells and volleys from ship 
             cannons broke the quiet. The city was celebrating 
             the first anniversary of the founding of the 
             United States.  
               
             The Fourth of July soon became the main patriotic 
             holiday of the entire country. Veterans of the 
             Revolutionary War made a tradition of gathering 
             on the Fourth to remember their victory. In towns 
             and cities, the American flag flew; shops displayed 
             red, white, and blue decorations; and people 
             marched in parades that were followed by public 
             readings of the Declaration of Independence. 
            
             In 1941, Congress declared July 4 a federal legal 
             holiday.

       
                             
            
 
    
                      

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OUR FLAG

                 On June 14, 1777, at Philadelphia, the Marine   
                 Committee of the Second Continental Congress
                 offered the resolution which resulted in the adoption
                 of the Flag of the United States. As new states were
                 admitted it became evident that the number of
                 stripes in the flag would have to be limited. Congress
                 ordered that after July 4, 1818, the flag should have
                 thirteen stripes, symbolizing the thirteen original
                 states, that the union would have twenty stars, and
                 that a new star should be added on the July 4th
                 following admission of a new state. The permanent 
                 arrangement of the stars is not designated, and no star 
                 is specifically identified with any state. Since 1912, 
                 following the admission of a new state, the new design
                 has been announced by executive order. The original 
                 resolution read: 

                 Resolved: that the flag of the United States be made of
                 thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the 
                 union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, 
                 representing a new constellation.
    

                 According to the Department of State, red stands 
                 for hardiness and courage, white is the symbol of
                 purity and innocence, and blue is the color of 
                 vigilance, perseverance, and justice. 

     

     

     

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