Yesterday during all of the festivities I started to wonder: "When did people start actually using fireworks to celebrate the 4th?"
My first thought was to text "CHACHA" because so far they haven't failed to answer any of my previous questions to my satisfaction. But this time, I was very disappoint. I asked them the question specifically to the 4th of July and they came back with a lame answer that involved China. Yes, we all know that they have been using fireworks for the past 2,000 or so years. But that was NOT my question. Not once in my question did I mention China. So to my disappointment I had to look elsewhere.
Where you ask? Google. They never seem to fail me. Although usually I do always come across something even better on the path for answers to my sometimes odd questions.
The first thing I typed into the Google search bar was simple: "Independence Day". One of the first places it directed me to was Wikipedia. Another great site that has all the answers. What I found on this site at first was not an answer to my initial question to CHACHA but I did find some interesting facts.
Some of which were:
In 1778, General George Washington marked July 4 with a double ration of rum for his soldiers and an artillery salute. Across the Atlantic Ocean, ambassadors John Adams and Benjamin Franklin held a dinner for their fellow Americans in Paris, France.
In 1779, July 4 fell on a Sunday. The holiday was celebrated on Monday, July 5.
In 1783, Moravians in Salem, North Carolina, held the first celebration of July 4 in the country with a challenging music program assembled by Johann Friedrich Peter. This work was titled "The Psalm of Joy".
In 1791 was the first recorded use of the name "Independence Day".
In 1870, the U.S. Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees.
In 1931, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday. The residents of Vicksburg, Mississippi, celebrated Independence Day for the first time since July 4, 1863, when the Siege of Vicksburg ended with a Union victory during the American Civil War.
My first thought was to text "CHACHA" because so far they haven't failed to answer any of my previous questions to my satisfaction. But this time, I was very disappoint. I asked them the question specifically to the 4th of July and they came back with a lame answer that involved China. Yes, we all know that they have been using fireworks for the past 2,000 or so years. But that was NOT my question. Not once in my question did I mention China. So to my disappointment I had to look elsewhere.
Where you ask? Google. They never seem to fail me. Although usually I do always come across something even better on the path for answers to my sometimes odd questions.
The first thing I typed into the Google search bar was simple: "Independence Day". One of the first places it directed me to was Wikipedia. Another great site that has all the answers. What I found on this site at first was not an answer to my initial question to CHACHA but I did find some interesting facts.
Some of which were:
I later found that fireworks started being used in 1777, one year after the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776.
I also found that America's Freedom Festival at Provo, in Utah, is one of the largest freedom festivals. It includes one of the largest Independence Day parades, and the Stadium of Fire.
1 comment:
Come on!!!! When are you going to write a new blog post?!?
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