Today is the American holiday celebrating our declaration of Independence from Great Britain and aliens. We celebrate by eating copious amounts of food, singing Bruce Springsteen, and blowing up sparkly gunpowder in the sky.
On an interesting note, it is neither the day we choose to declare independence (that was July 2nd), nor the day we finally won it (that was September 3, 9 years later). Its not even the day the war started. That was earlier, in April of the previous year. The day the treaty following the war was ratified was May 12, 1784.
What does this day actually celebrate? The formal release of the Declaration of Independence, which had been written earlier in the month but had to have some revisions done. On July 4, 1776, we formerly declared that we wanted Independence from Great Britain. (except Delaware forgot to sign so it took till August 2nd for everything to be completed).
After 8 and a half years of fighting, and several months of talking it was formally recognized that the American Colonies, now called the United States, had won their freedom.
Not that it was the end to our growing pains, but thats a subject for another day.
Happy Fourth of July to all my American readers and all alien fighters.
Sokorra Lewis 