Happy Independence Day Everyone!

I hope you enjoyed this year's Independence Day as much we did. Finally the weather cleared and we had a beautiful sunny day. We attended a wonderful dinner party at the Upton's. These are the people whose house we clean weekly and where we have been helping Ashley decorate. It was a fun party and such a clear night that we could see the Nantucket fireworks, the fireworks on Martha's Vineyard, and the fireworks at Hyannis on the mainland.

I was a bit surprised when one of the guests at the party, a mother of two, asked what the 4th of July actually meant. So....now a "History Lesson!"

Many people confuse the celebration of the 4th of July for the end of the Revolutionary War. Not true. The Revolutionary War lasted from 1775 to 1783. July 4, 1776 is the day we adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring our independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Our 2nd continental congress voted in favor of an independence resolution on July 2, 1776 and the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, was approved and dated July 4th. Because of the date on the Declaration of Independence, we celebrate this day.

Here is some interesting trivia:

Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, two founding fathers of the United States and the only two men who signed the Declaration of Independence to become president, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the United States' 50th anniversary.

In 1777, thirteen gunshots were fired, once at morning and again as evening fell, on July 4 in Bristol, Rhode Island, in honor of the 13 colonies that declared independence from Great Britain. Thus began the tradition of the 13-gun salute.










Michael and Ashley.