Happy Independence Day from Seniors Helping Seniors!
Of course, we all know about July 4th or Independence Day and the reason we celebrate it from our elementary school days, right? I always find it interesting to know more about the history of the holidays themselves, though. With the internet available to us today, we have so much more access to this type of information than when I was in school. So while you enjoy the holiday with you spouse, children, or elders, here are a few facts you can share to sound smart:
- In the summer of 1776 the colonists changed their former celebration of the kings birthday to a mock funeral of King George III as a symbol of the loss of the monarch's grip over the colonies
- In 1778 George Washington gave his troops double rations to celebrate the historical day
- A few months before the colonists victory at the battle of Yorktown in 1781, Massachusetts was the first colony to make July 4 an official holiday
- In 1870, the Congress made July 4th a national holiday
- In 1941, it became a paid holiday for federal government workers and over the years many companies followed suit
You can check out history.com for more details.