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 an especially dangerous holiday, typically resulting in more than 10,000 trips to the emergency room. Yet fireworks remain at the center of Independence Day, a holiday 247 years in the making.

Here are five things to know about July Fourth, including the origin of the holiday and how fireworks became part of the tradition.

WHAT’S THE ORIGIN OF INDEPENDENCE DAY?

The holiday celebrates the Second Continental Congress’ unanimous adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, a document announcing the colonies’ separation from Great Britain.

One year later, according to the Library of Congress, a spontaneous celebration in Philadelphia marked the anniversary of American independence.

But across the burgeoning nation, observations didn’t become commonplace until after the War of 1812. It quickly took off: The Library of Congress notes that major historic events in the 19th century, such as groundbreaking ceremonies for the Erie Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, were scheduled to coincide with Fourth of July festivities.

HOW DID FIREWORKS BECAME A JULY FOURTH TRADITION?

The display of pyrotechnics has been a big part of Independence Day from the outset. Founding Father John Adams saw it coming.

Commemoration of America’s independence “ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more,” Adams wrote in a letter to his wife, Abigail, dated July 3, 1776.

Fireworks were around 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 stalks into fires, causing explosions as the hollow air pockets overheated.

By the 15th century, fireworks were widely used for religious festivals and public entertainment in Europe and early U.S. settlers carried on those traditions, the association said.

HAS A PRESIDENT EVER REFUSED TO CELEBRATE?

Presidents from George Washington to Joe Biden have celebrated the nation’s birth on the Fourth of July, with one exception: Adams.

His letter to his wife aside, Adams refused to celebrate the holiday on July 4 because he felt 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, though the Declaration of Independence wasn’t formally adopted until two days later.

Adams was so adamant that he turned down invitations to festivals and other events, even while serving as the nation’s second president. Ironically, Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the primary 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 in 2000, American consumers spent $407 million on fireworks. By 2022, that figure rose to $2.3 billion. The biggest jump came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when public fireworks displays were shut down. Consumer sales jumped from $1 billion in 2019 to $1.9 billion in 2020.

“People went to the fireworks store beginning Memorial Day weekend and they just didn’t stop,” said Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association. “They were firing off fireworks all of 2020. It shocked the industry, to be quite honest with you.”

Sales are expected to rise another $100 million this year, the association said. It helps that the Fourth of July is on a Tuesday, creating essentially a four-day weekend.

ARE FIREWORKS DANGEROUS?

Despite widespread education efforts, thousands of Americans are badly injured by fireworks each year, and this year is no exception.

Late Saturday night, firefighters and medics were called to Lexington Township, a suburb of Kansas City, Kansas, for reports of a shed on fire and arrived to find fireworks actively exploding from the burning shed and several people lying injured on the ground. Firefighters, medics and local police dragged the victims from the area to safety, and four people were taken to hospitals — two with serious injuries, Northwest Consolidated Fire District Chief Todd Maxton said in a statement.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that in 2022, 10,200 people were treated at emergency rooms and 11 deaths were blamed on fireworks. About three-quarters of injuries happened in the period around the Fourth of July.

About one-third of the injuries were to the head, face, ears or eyes. Finger, hand and leg injuries are common, too.

“I have seen people who have blown off fingers,” said Dr. Tiffany Osborn, an emergency room physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. “I’ve seen people who have lost eyes. I’ve seen people who have significant facial injuries.”

Children under 15 make up nearly one-third of those injured by fireworks. Sparklers often are blamed for burns to children under age 5. Osborn suggested giving small children glow sticks or colorful streamers instead.

For those planning to shoot 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 ignite them.

Osborn encouraged having a bucket or hose nearby in case of fire or explosion. Shoot off one at a time and walk away quickly after igniting, she said, and never relight or handle a malfunctioned firework. When done, shovel up the remains and soak them before disposing.

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To take advantage of the best deals of the season, create your “lighting wish-list” in advance of Cyber Monday. Manufacturers such as Progress Lighting are making it easy to plan ahead . As you seek inspiration, consider these designs, which align with the latest home decor trends:

• Bath & Vanity: Create a serene bathroom oasis capturing the old and the new. Featuring a clean, precise design, the Hansford Collection’s four-light bath and vanity bracket with an Antique Bronze finish lends itself to farmhouse, coastal or industrial interiors. For a modern, yet timeless look, consider the Carisa Collection’s three-light Vintage Gold Bath light. Its metallic finish supports glossy white glass globes.

• Ceiling Fans: Add expansive design to great rooms, living rooms and bedrooms with statement-making ceiling fans. The Springer Collection 60-inch 12-Blade Distressed Walnut Coastal Windmill fan, inspired by the form and function of a windmill, has an architectural bronze finish ideal for farmhouse, industrial and transitional interior settings. For sophisticated, modern design, consider the Glandon Collection 60-inch fan, which has full-range dimming and reversible blades in driftwood and walnut.

• Chandeliers: Complement rustic and modern farmhouse home décor in hallways, foyers and great rooms, as well as urban industrial and coastal interior settings, with the four-light linear chandelier of the Gulliver Collection. Its three circular bands wrap together for an open design. Dual-toned frame color combinations of graphite feature weathered gray accents. Or, create a soft, muted glow with the four-light black chandelier in the Durrell Collection. Inside the sailcloth linen shade nestle light bases on gently curved arms coated in a beautiful finish.

Demand attention with the Lassiter Five-Light Brushed Nickel Chandelier. Square tubing with clean angles and striking vintage light sockets blend the modern with traditional.

• Close-to-Ceiling: A new category of vintage modern fixtures takes center stage with this convertible fixture in the Debut Collection. Delicate details in a graphite finish create a statement-making focal piece for a variety of interiors — whether mounted flush to the ceiling or chain-hung — for a fitting stage to feature nostalgic, vintage lamps. For rustic flair, consider a close-to-ceiling fixture in the Durrell Collection featuring a round open-cage frame coated in a farmhouse-style matte black finish.

• Outdoor: Enhance modern and transitional style settings outdoors with the minimalist, yet exciting design of the Square Wall Lantern. The crisscross design of the Hollingsworth Collection Wall Lantern surrounds clear seeded glass, emulating popular farmhouse décor and when paired with vintage or traditional bulbs, enhances a variety of transitional exteriors.

• Pendants: The concentric rings of Equinox pendants pivot for an otherworldly feel inspired by astronomy, whereas Penn, a one-light large pendant with a clear glass sphere in a natural brass finish, embraces a modern take on vintage electric design.

• Controls: Experience the convenience of touchless lighting with voice control through Siri, Amazon Alexa, or the Google Assistant using the iDevices Smart Lighting Controls. Manage home lighting from anywhere and set dynamic scenes via the connected app.

By upgrading home lighting during the holidays, you can affordably gift your family beautiful, functional spaces.

-StatePoint

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Harvard Street Holidays

On Saturday December 14th from 11am to 5pm, The Hemet Woman’s Club will host their first annual holiday street festival in the Historic Downtown District of Hemet. Over a dozen organizations will be partnering with HWC to create a very special community event that will draw thousands of visitors to downtown Hemet.

Planned activities for HARVARD STREET HOLIDAYS include:

• Live entertainment performed by local schools and community groups
• A Wine & Beer Garden for a pleasant spot to relax and enjoy the music
• A large vendor area with lots of local and regional vendors of all kinds 
• Visits with Santa and his elves and plenty of locations for special photos with the family
• A petting zoo with a Nativity theme
• A kid zone filled with free games & activities, including face painting, carnival games & more
• Make-A-Craft area with free holiday craft projects for kids of all ages
• An art sale & exhibit, with live “plein air” artists 
• Roaming performers including carolers and street artists
• Special festival sales at local merchants

All Kid Zone and Make-A-Craft activities will be free of charge, with local groups providing the equipment, materials and staffing. Sponsorships will assist with the cost of street closures, equipment and decorations.

For more information on hosting a vendor booth or activity, please call Margie Wachter (951) 219-2983. Sponsorship information is available from Susan Carrier (951) 551-5363.

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Both the United States and Canada celebrate the agricultural harvest and other blessings of our life with an annual feast day in the fall. These feast days are not only festive celebrations, but also a time to recall our responsibilities as stewards.

Although regional variations of dates and observances arose in later years, George Washington declared the first national day of Thanksgiving in 1789. In 1939 Congress fixed the date of Thanksgiving in the United States as the fourth Thursday in November. Canada celebrated its first national Thanksgiving in 1879, and now observes the day on the second Monday of each October.

Thanksgiving was the first holiday celebrated by the Puritan settlers of Massachusetts. The winter of 1620 had devastated the Puritans’ colony with famine and disease. Help from the Native Americans (a Native viewpoint from 2000) and a good growing season resulted in a generous harvest in 1621, an event the colony celebrated by proclaiming a public day of thanksgiving. The three-day celebration, held after the harvest, combined two aspects of similar celebrations from England and Europe: a harvest festival and a public thanksgiving for a specific occasion of deliverance.

Harvest festivals, of course, are found in agricultural communities across the globe and throughout history. Three Jewish festivals — Passover, Pentecostand Tabernacles — had connections to agricultural events. The first occurred at the time of new births in the animal flocks; the second at the harvest of grain; and the third at the time of new wine.

Many different harvest festivals were celebrated by the medieval Church. One such day was Lammas Day in England, which commemorated the harvest of grain with church services and feasting. Though the Puritan settlers did not retain Lammas Day or similar feasts, their celebration of 1621 did retain such harvest festival traditions as prayer, feasting and games. Even our contemporary celebration of Thanksgiving includes these traditions.

“Thanksgiving is a true inward acknowledgement, we applying ourselves with great reverence and loving fear with all our powers to the work that God moved us to, rejoicing and giving thanks inwardly. And so, the power of the Lord’s word enters the soul and enlivens the heart and makes us rejoice in the Lord. This is the most loving thanksgiving in God’s sight.” -Julian of Norwich

The second aspect of Thanksgiving — gratitude for a specific event — is also widespread in human experience. Indeed, such thanksgivings have given rise to the characteristic liturgies of both Judaism and Christianity, as in the Passover Seder and the Christian Eucharist. Throughout the middle ages, days of special thanksgiving were held to praise God for deliverance from famine, plague or war. This tradition was preserved by the Puritan settlers and put to its first use in the autumn of 1621.

We give thanks for all our blessings—especially blessings of food and citizenship in our country—realizing that such blessings demand responsible use of every resource to do God’s will. Remembrance, gratitude and stewardship—let these be the hallmarks of our feast, the hallmarks of our lives.

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The Valley Vocal Ensemble will present its annual Christmas Holiday Concert at 3:00 pm on Saturday, December 14th at St. John’s Lutheran Church (26410 Columbia St., Hemet) and again at 3:00 pm on Sunday, December 15th at The Diamond Valley Arts Center (123 N. Harvard St., Hemet).

In addition to a number of individual holiday favorites, the performances will feature “Sing We Now of Christmas” a masterwork of over 20 familiar Christmas Carols originally recorded by the Harry Simeone Chorale. Tickets are $10.00 per person and can be purchased at the door.

The Valley Vocal Ensemble, a semi-professional choral group centered in the San Jacinto Valley, is directed by Randy Dawkins and accompanied by Virginia Pritchard. For more information call 951.660.6446.

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On September 2, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor celebrates and honors the greatest worker in the world – the American worker. Labor Day 2019 is the 125th anniversary of Labor Day being celebrated as a national holiday.

Labor Day: What it Means

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Labor Day Legislation

The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed in 1885 and 1886. From these, a movement developed to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During 1887, four more states – Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York – created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

Founder of Labor Day

More than a century after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.”

But Peter McGuire’s place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

The First Labor Day

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a national holiday.

A Nationwide Holiday

The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

The character of the Labor Day celebration has changed in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics, and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television.

The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pays tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation’s strength, freedom, and leadership – the American worker.

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