Did You Know: Why Fireworks on July 4th?

Fireworks are synonymous with July 4th celebrations in the United States. In a letter to his wife Abigail, founding father John Adams wrote “the second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epocha, in the history of America. It 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.” Well, Adams was right on regarding the big celebration part; not so much with the date (also, what’s a Shew?). That’s because Congress gave a green light to American independence on July 2, 1776, but didn’t approve the actual Declaration of Independence until July 4.  In 1777, the cities of New York and Boston included fireworks as part of their celebrations, but the use of fireworks on July 4^th spread relatively slowly.  The firing of canons, muskets and parades were more common at first, because fireworks were expensive and hard to manage safely.  In the 1830s chemists figured out how to produce a variety of colors of fireworks and with the Star Spangled Banner and, namely, the words rocket’s red glare, becoming popular in the late nineteenth century, fireworks became entrenched as something to be seen on the Fourth of July across the country.

Rockets Red Glare: The Home Edition

If you are thinking about setting off some fireworks in your own backyard, consider that there are worse hazards than fighting traffic if you go pyro on July 4th. The American Pyrotechnics Association Consult fireworks laws by state. If you live in New Jersey, fergitaboutit. New York says NO to all aerial consumer fireworks but is good with ground-based or hand held sparkling devices including cylindrical fountains, cone fountains, and wood sparklers/dipped sticks, party poppers, and snappers.

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