More than Fireworks. Traditions that Last.

Photo by Marge Dwyer taken at Big Cedar Lodge entrance, Missouri

Summer solstice may be June 21, but for many, the kickoff to summer actually happens on the Fourth of July. And this July is extra special as we honor 250 years of liberty, courage, and the American spirit.

There’s something so wonderful about the Fourth of July. Friends and family gathering in backyards. Watermelon, potato salad, and something delicious cooking on the grill. Kids waving sparklers from the sidewalk as the parade marches down the main street, and lawn chairs pulled onto fields, all facing the same direction, waiting for the first crack of fireworks to light up the sky. 

It didn’t start the way you think

We all know that the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. But what you may have forgotten from elementary school history was that the vote for independence actually happened two days earlier. And John Adams was convinced that July 2 would be the date future generations would remember and celebrate. He was wrong about the date but not about the spirit of celebration.

He wrote that it should be marked with “pomp and parade…bonfires and illuminations from one end of the continent to the other.”

And his vision has continued through all of these years, as he predicted it would. In other words, the spirit of the Fourth of July—the noise, the gathering, the celebration—was there from the very beginning.

Some Things Haven’t Changed At All

It’s easy to think that the way we celebrate today is very different from how it was celebrated nearly 250 years ago.

But in many ways, it was surprisingly similar. 

Then: bonfires lighting the night sky. Now: fireworks bursting in color overhead.

Then: public readings in town squares. Now: conversations around picnic tables.

Then: a shared hope for what freedom could become. Now: a continued celebration of what it allows us to do every day.

Like then, as it is today, the essence of the day is still the same: coming together to celebrate something bigger than ourselves - our freedom. 

The Freedoms We Share

From the earliest days of the American Revolutionary War to today, the freedoms we celebrate have been protected by those willing to serve.

Veterans. Active-duty military. Families who carry the weight of that service alongside them.

Their role may not always seem front and center in Fourth of July celebrations. It’s easy for it to get lost somewhere between the burgers and the fireworks. But it’s there. 

Because the ability to gather freely and to celebrate rests on a foundation built 250 years ago and it’s been sustained ever since. 

From the beginning, the Fourth of July wasn’t a quiet holiday—it was meant to bring people together around a shared idea: freedom. It was meant to be a time of “pomp and parade.” A time of “bonfires and illuminations.” 

So as you tilt your eyes to the sky this year and “ooh” and “aah” at the fireworks bursting in the night sky, maybe take a second to remember what we’re celebrating. And imagine how odd it would be to celebrate the “Second” of July.