How Americans are Celebrating the Fourth
Today, many of us are waving flags and watching fireworks made in China and eating food from Idaho, Iowa, North Dakota and Florida.
Why do we celebrate the Fourth of July? Because on this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As always, this most American of holidays is being marked by parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues across Patch communities and the country. Here are some interesting statistics about the holiday, complied by the United States Census Bureau. Number of Americans Celebrating 2.5 million in July 1776, the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation. Source: Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, census.gov/prod/www/abs/statab.html 311.7 million in July 2011, the nation's …
