Ten Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About the Fourth of July
There are lots of things we expect on the Fourth: fireworks, friends, family. There are things we love (sparklers, Roman candles, cold beer) and things we despise (sauerkraut, ambrosia, Lee Greenwood… all right, haters… this was from a friend. Direct all your spittle-filled anger elsewhere).
Here are a few unexpected things about the Fourth you can share tomorrow, if only to divert mom’s attention away from Uncle Collin while he takes the youngest kids ’round back to set off three packs of taped-together Blackcat firecrackers…
10. No Rush to Get “God Bless America” to the People
Famed American composer Irving Berlin gave his adopted nation one of its greatest and most iconic songs but it didn’t see the light of day because its author didn’t deem it worthy of being sung. Berlin was drafted into the military in the early 1900s and helped to draft a musical comedy for his fellow troops in which he composed the song for its final number — a tune inspired by a phrase his Russian mother would often utter after escaping to America from underneath the iron fist of the bloody Russian empire. However, the composer didn’t think it would fit in the show and kept it in his file for 20 years until singer Kate Smith wanted a patriotic song to sing on the radio as war broke out across Europe. The song became one of the most requested patriotic ditties almost overnight and a staple in American songbooks. (Source)
9. Ehhhh… We’ll Get To It. We’re… Busy.
July 4th was not declared a federal holiday until 1941. Most federal holidays are observed on a Monday but despite the temptation of a Guaranteed Long Weekend, that pesky date made lawmakers leave it be. (Source)
