The First Independence Day

Author Unknown

Independence Day also known as 4th of July 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. The day they announced to the world that the 13 colonies no longer belonged to Great Britain. The 13 Colonies were: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia. But the first Independence Day celebration didn't occur until July 8, 1776, four days after the Declaration was signed. 

John Adams, one of the new nation's Founding Fathers and a future president, was reported to have said, "I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty." 
"It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore." 

However, Congress did not declare July 4 a legal federal holiday until 1941. 

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