Yep, we should celebrate the Fourth of July on July 2 (or something like that. I'm starting to get confused), because the Continental Congress actually declared independence from Britain on July 2, 1776.
Yes. July 2, not July 4.
The reason for the two-day mistake (which is the working title of a country music song I'm writing) is that the authors of the Declaration of Independence postdated their document like they were writing a postdated check. They voted on the resolution for independence July 2 and "ratified the text" July 4.
The actual reason for the delay is lost to history. One theory is that the absence of laptops, electric typewriters, manual typewriters, ditto paper or telegrams forced them to wait. Some scholars believe that the lack of affordable cable TV for early Americans made C-SPAN unavailable for most residents, so the Founding Fathers were forced to wait.
The "why" is unclear, but the "what" is obvious: They voted for independence July 2, and they dated the document July 4. And nobody signed the Declaration until Aug. 2, 1776, according to the National Archives.
It turns out that the Fourth of July should really be the Second of July (again, I may be slightly confused between the date and the holiday).
I'm not here to overthrow Independence Day. I don't suggest we go to the parade in Fairfield, the waterfront in Suisun City, set off fireworks and eat hot dogs on July 2 (although the waterfront isn't the worst idea, right? And your crazy neighbors will set off fireworks today).
We can keep the Fourth of July on July 4, because details behind holidays sometimes change as we get more information, but we don't need to eliminate the holidays or even change the way or time we commemorate them.
For instance . . .
People often act as if they're winning an argument when they say Jesus Christ likely wasn't born on Christmas day, as if Dec. 25 is mentioned in the Bible and to admit that the date is just a commemoration would discredit Christianity. The specifics of the date pale in comparison to what it commemorates.
Same thing with Thanksgiving. It's now widely accepted that the version of the first Thanksgiving that I learned in school – Pilgrims joining happy Native Americans around a table to enjoy turkey and dressing after watching NFL games in Detroit and Dallas – was wrong. The original Thanksgiving is more about a short-lived peace, with a dark cloud of disease and upcoming conflicts that would wipe out civilizations. However, we can still celebrate a holiday of being thankful and gathering with friends and family and watching the Lions and Cowboys (the only part of the first Thanksgiving story that is true).
Same thing with Columbus Day (the real one, Oct. 12), which people historically considered as the day Christopher Columbus went ashore in the Bahamas. We now know that he brought European colonization, disease, enslavement and genocide to people who were already living in the Americas and would be surprised to hear the land had just been "discovered." The pushback against Columbus in recent decades led to the growing commemoration of Indigenous People's Day on or around Oct. 12, which also happens to be my birthday. Columbus Day? Indigenous People's Day? Either is fine, as long as it's celebrated with a birthday cake at my house.
Which somehow brings us back to today and the lesson of that first Independence Day. The takeaway is that today is July 2, which is our nation's 247th birthday.
That means both today and Tuesday are the Fourth of July. Kind of.
Reach Brad Stanhope at BradStanhope@outlook.com.
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