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The United States marks its 246th Independence Day on Monday (July 4) at a time when the country is roiled by hearings over the January 6 insurrection, awash in turmoil over high court rulings on abortion and guns, and struggling to maintain the common bonds that keep it together.
It’s a day for taking off work, flocking to parades, devouring hot dogs and burgers at backyard barbecues and gathering under a canopy of stars and exploding fireworks, in many cases for the first time in three years amid easing coronavirus precautions.
Let's take a look at its history and how it is celebrated:
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Declaration of Independence
The Fourth of July holiday marks the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by congressional delegates in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776.
The document declared the young nation’s independence from Great Britain and advanced the principle “that all men are created equal,” and had “certain unalienable rights” including “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
(Photograph:AFP)
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US Independence Day
As always, fireworks displays are the highlight of the July Fourth holiday. Two of the biggest pyrotechnic shows in the country will blast off over the National Mall in Washington, and over a mile stretch of New York City's East River, separating Manhattan from the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn.
(Photograph:Reuters)
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US Independence Day
Baltimore, for one, is resuming its Independence Day celebrations after a two-year hiatus. Colorful displays big and small will light up the night sky in cities from New York to Seattle to Chicago to Dallas. However others, particularly in drought-stricken and wildfire-prone regions of the West, will forgo them.
Phoenix is also again going without fireworks, not because of the pandemic or fire concerns but due to supply-chain issues.
(Photograph:AFP)
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US Independence Day
This year's Independence Day holiday is a time for Americans to show their patriotism and celebrate a personal sense of freedom by mingling with friends again and enjoying summer's simple pleasures.
(Photograph:Reuters)
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US Independence Day
In emotional ceremonies across the country, some newer residents will swear oaths of citizenship, qualifying them to vote for the first time in the upcoming midterm elections.
(Photograph:AFP)
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US Independence Day
It is a precarious time in the United States with an economic recession lurksing, and the national psyche still raw from mass shootings like those seen recently at a Texas elementary school and a New York supermarket.
Sharp social and political divisions have also been laid bare by recent Supreme Court decisions overturning the constitutional right to abortion and striking down a New York law limiting who may carry a gun in public.
But for many, July 4 is also a chance to set aside political differences and to celebrate unity, reflecting on the revolution that gave rise to history’s longest-lived democracy.