What you need to know about Fourth of July origins and traditions
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Fourth of July is Americana at its core: parades and cookouts and cold beer and, of course, fireworks.
Those pyrotechnics also make it a particularly dangerous holiday, usually resulting in more than 10,000 trips to the emergency room. Still, fireworks continue to take center stage on Independence Day, a holiday 247 years in the making.
Here are five things to know about the 4th of July, including the holiday’s origins and how fireworks became part of the tradition.
WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF INDEPENDENCE DAY?
The holiday celebrates the unanimous adoption by the Second Continental Congress of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, a document announcing the separation of Britain’s colonies.
A year later, according to the Library of Congressan impromptu celebration in Philadelphia marked the anniversary of American independence.
But in the fast-growing country, observations did not become commonplace until after the War of 1812. Ohio Railroad, would coincide with the Fourth of July festivities.
HOW DID FIREWORKS BECOME A TRADITION ON THE FOURTH OF JULY?
Displaying fireworks has been an important part of Independence Day since the beginning. Founding Father John Adams saw it coming.
Commemoration of America’s independence “should be celebrated with pomp and circumstance, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and lights from one end of this continent to the other from this time forever,” Adams wrote in a letter to his wife, Abigail, dated July 3, 1776.
Fireworks have been around for centuries before America became a nation. The American Pyrotechnics Association says many historians believe fireworks were first developed in the second century B.C. in ancient China by throwing bamboo sticks into fire, causing explosions when the hollow air sacs overheated.
By the 15th century, fireworks were widely used for religious festivals and public entertainment in Europe and early American settlers continued those traditions, the association said.
HAS A PRESIDENT EVER REFUSED TO CELEBRATE?
Presidents from George Washington to Joe Biden have celebrated the birth of the country on July 4, with one exception: Adams.
Aside from his letter to his wife, Adams refused to observe the holiday on July 4 because he felt that July 2 was the real Independence Day. Why? It was on July 2, 1776, that the Continental Congress voted in favor of the resolution for independence, although the Declaration of Independence was not formally adopted until two days later.
Adams was so adamant that he turned down invitations to festivals and other events, even when he was the country’s second president. Ironically, Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the main author of the Declaration of Independence, both died on the 50th anniversary of the document’s formal adoption, July 4, 1826.
HOW POPULAR ARE FIREWORKS?
Consumer sales of fireworks have grown rapidly over the past two decades.
Statistics from the American Pyrotechnics Association show that US consumers spent $407 million on fireworks in 2000. By 2022, that figure had risen to $2.3 billion. The biggest jump came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when public fireworks displays were shut down. Consumer sales have increased from $1 billion in 2019 to $1.9 billion in 2020.
“People went to the firework store during the beginning of Memorial Day weekend and they just didn’t stop,” said Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association. “They were setting off fireworks all through 2020. It shocked the industry, to be honest.”
Sales are expected to increase another $100 million this year, the association said. It helps that the 4th of July falls on a Tuesday, essentially creating a four-day weekend.
ARE FIREWORKS DANGEROUS?
Despite widespread education efforts, thousands of Americans are seriously injured by fireworks each year. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that 10,200 people were treated in the emergency room in 2022, and 11 deaths were attributed to fireworks. About three-quarters of the injuries happened in the period around July 4.
About a third of the injuries involved the head, face, ears or eyes. Finger, hand, and leg injuries are also common.
“I’ve seen people blow off fingers,” says Dr. Tiffany Osborn, an emergency room physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. “I have seen people who have lost their eyes. I have seen people with significant facial injuries.”
Children under the age of 15 make up nearly a third of those injured by fireworks. Starlets are often blamed for burns in children under 5 years old. Osborn suggested giving small children glow sticks or colorful streamers instead.
For those planning to set off fireworks, Heckman urged finding a flat, hard, level surface away from structures and other things that could catch fire. The person responsible for the fireworks should avoid alcohol. Children should never light them.
Osborn encouraged having a bucket or hose nearby in case of a fire or explosion. Fire one at a time and walk away quickly after igniting, she said, and never relight a defective firecracker. When you’re done, scoop up the leftovers and let them soak before throwing them away.
