On 2014-07-04 2:38 PM, Gus wrote:

> By the way, why is it called 4th of July and not Independence Day? Why
> not call July 4th "Independence day" and have it on the first Monday of
> July, or such?

Why is July 4th called July 4th? Gee. Tough question. Maybe because it
is to commemorate the day that the American colonies declared
independence, thought it actually two days after the Continental
Congress passed the resolution.

In Canada we celebrate Canada Day on July 1st. Since the queen is
officially the (figurative) head of state, we celebrate a sort of royal
birthday, but it is in honour of Queen Victoria. When I was a kid, the
holiday was called Victoria Day, but royalists are a dying breed and
more recently it has come to be known as May 24...... May 2-4. Thanks
to our northern climate, it is thought of as the beginning of the warm
weather. It is not warm enough to go swimming, but it is warm enough to
sit outside and drink cold beer. Beer is most commonly sold in cases of
24, usually called a 2-4. Hence, the holiday has become May 2-4
because people for out and buy 2-4 s of beer. +