On Sat, 05 Jul 2014 21:37:42 -0700, koko > wrote:

>On Fri, 04 Jul 2014 18:16:41 -0400, Dave Smith
> wrote:
>
>>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. +
>>
>Thanks for sharing that. See, you can learn something new everyday.

Veering slightly off-topic here...

DH and I ended up in Bozeman Montana on the 4th. The fireworks were at
the Gallatin County Fairground, which was about 3 blocks from our
hotel. We watched from the hotel parking lot, and a very nice local
couple who were also watching from there offered us a beer and a lawn
chair and some lovely company.

I have to say I've never been more impressed with fireworks in my
entire life. I've never seen anything like it.

You Americans really know how to celebrate your national birthday!

Doris