Independence Day

Independence Day of the United States, also referred to as the Fourth of July or July Fourth in the U.S., has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the American Revolution. The Declaration of Independence is the statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, the United States of America, and no longer under British rule. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies.