Happy Fourth of July, everyone, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!  fireworks, picnics, bbqs, parades, food, flags, sparklers, food, concerts, fairs, reunions, food.  What a great country we reside in.  Amazing how the United States of America is still just a baby in comparison…

A few facts:

•‘Patriotism’ is derived from the Latin ‘patria’, meaning ‘homeland’ or ‘fatherland’.

•Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, who both signed the declaration, who both served as U.S. presidents, died on Independence Day, July 4, 1826.

•In 1941, Congress declared the Fourth of July a federal legal holiday. It is one of the few federal holidays that has not been moved to the nearest Monday or Friday.

•America was actually declared independence on July 2, 1776…congress approved it on July 4th, after debating and revising the wording for a couple of days.

What an amazing time it must have been for the first American citizens…Happy Fourth, everyone.