Friday is the Fourth of July – Independence Day for U.S. citizens. It’s a day of celebration. Over a three-day weekend, I hope to be indulging in two nights of fireworks, combined with a movie or two, adult refreshment and Oreos. (Those blessed Oreos!) I may even salute my beautiful country.
Happy Birthday America, I adore you from sea to shining sea!
America, The Beautiful Lyrics
by Katharine Lee Bates – 1913
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern impassion’d stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thine ev’ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev’ry gain divine!
O Beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
Mary J Melange 
How did you and Canada manage to have your birthdays so close together?
Sometimes I think Australians are little envious of how passionately our North American cousins celebrate their national days. Someone, in their wisdom, decided to choose the day the First Fleet arrived in Sydney as our national day. Understandably, our indigenous brothers and sisters refer to it as “Invasion Day”. Hard to celebrate with unbridled joy on a day that marks the beginning of a genocide.
Every year there are rumblings about finding another day but the obvious one – the day we became an independent nation and no longer a British colony – would be on the 1st January. It’s already got a public holiday. But I do hope that one day we will find a day that truly marks us as both a new and ancient country and one of which we can all be proud.
Happy Independence Day for Friday!
Thank you and I wish you did have such a celebratory day. I don’t think I could celebrate an invasion day…it would be like having fireworks to mark World War II’s D-Day. Would it help if I ate an extra Oreo for you? I can do that, you know. 😉
Oh, I think you should definitely do that. It would make me feel much better. 🙂
Consider it done!
Happy 4th, Mary. I’m sure I’ll talk with you before then, but I’m already itching to run through the grass with some sparklers.
Same to you Andra. Light a sparkler tonight…you’re allowed!
Oreos and adult beverages! Yes please!!
Happy 4th of July!! 🙂
Thank you and Happy Belated Canada Day!
Buon compleanno America!!
🙂
Hope you had a great July 4th and party on all weekend!
It’s been a most awesome, relaxing 4th of July weekend.