Celebrate!
Did you know that the very first use
of fireworks to celebrate the 4th of July
was on the first anniversary of our
declared independence, July 4th, 1777!
In 1776, then-future President John Adams
sent a letter to his wife, Abigail,
outlining how the country's declared
independence from England should be celebrated.
He wrote that the day should be marked
with "pomp & parade, with shews (shows),
games, sports, bonfires, bells and illuminations
from one end of this continent to the other
from this time forward forever more (sic)."
The next year, a July 4th fireworks display
in Philadelphia began and ended with 13 rockets,
according to American University historian
James R. Heintze.
"The evening was closed with the ringing of bells,
and at night there was a grand exhibition
of fireworks, which began and concluded
with thirteen rockets on the commons,
and the city was beautifully illuminated," he wrote. "Everything was conducted with the greatest order and decorum, and the face of joy and gladness was universal."
By about five years later, the fireworks
shows included a wide variety of
types of fireworks such as serpents,
wheels, table rockets, cherry trees,
fountains and sunflowers.
So there you have it:
We celebrate our independence
with fireworks and picnics because
that's the way our founders
intended it to be.
It is quite the spectacle now
with towns going bigger and
better all the time.
I still love a great show but am
also aware now how these
can affect veterans.
As to the origin of my block above,
maybe you remember it from
another quilt of mine published
in AQ magazine a few years back,
So, even if you aren't up for
making Botanical Beauty, there
are other fun patriotic quilts to make:)
Keep Quilting:)
