{"id":932,"date":"2016-07-04T12:50:08","date_gmt":"2016-07-04T12:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.usgreencardoffice.com\/blog\/?p=932"},"modified":"2025-02-01T04:41:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-01T04:41:22","slug":"independence-day-happy-fourth-of-july","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usgreencardoffice.com\/blog\/independence-day-happy-fourth-of-july","title":{"rendered":"Happy Fourth of July (Independence Day)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Independence Day is one of the most celebrated national holidays in the USA. It encompasses America\u2019s love of freedom and its desire to look to the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">To understand why this holiday is so important to both native and immigrant Americans, let\u2019s look at its history and the way it\u2019s celebrated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Weekly Address: Serving our Military Families This Fourth of July\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MgbolOCiKJU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is Independence Day?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Every year, Americans honor the birth of the United States of America. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Independence Day, therefore, celebrates the country\u2019s separation from colonial rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When America was first settled by Europeans, one of the main forces was Great Britain. The American Revolution broke out as a result, and, after a year of fighting, Great Britain had no choice but to accept the country\u2019s independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many reasons why the war broke out, but they largely boil down to America\u2019s core values: the desire to go it alone without answering to a distant king. The country had the ability to make money and wanted full control over how it did this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, the USA\u2019s population at the time was still firmly considered immigrants. They came from European countries and could claim a maximum of 150 years\u2019 history in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the first Independence Day, America took off on the world stage. Although it\u2019s been its own country for nearly 250 years, the USA still takes a lot of pride in its history of independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Americans Celebrate the 4th of July <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Celebrations marking Independence Day began almost immediately. George Washington issued double rum rations for sailors beginning in 1778, and before then, Americans held bonfires to mark the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Independence Day became a federal holiday in 1870, and it became a paid holiday for federal employees in 1941. Although it\u2019s not as political a holiday anymore, it\u2019s still one of the most widely celebrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, the Fourth of July is a day of picnics and patriotic parades, a night of concerts and fireworks, and a reason to fly the American flag. In fact, the tradition of letting off fireworks began in 1777 alongside cannon salutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A big part of the day\u2019s celebrations is the president\u2019s address. Each president uses it as an opportunity to highlight what they feel is the holiday\u2019s purpose. For example, President Obama wished everyone a happy Fourth of July and recognized all the service members, veterans, and their families for their service to the United States of America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Joe_Biden\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">President Biden<\/a> used it as a chance to celebrate America\u2019s resilience and potential in the future. These are, after all, core American values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Immigrants and Independence Day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Immigrants to the USA understand the importance of Independence Day. They\u2019re regularly seen celebrating alongside native-born Americans because the day is for everyone. While it represents American freedom, it also stands for freedom of social movement and the ability to improve one\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps part of the reason why immigrants understand the holiday so well is that it comes up on naturalization tests. Once eligible for citizenship, you must complete a civics test that covers history and politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unsurprisingly, Independence Day comes up in an American civics test. To pass the exam, you\u2019ll have to learn about its history and importance along with other national holidays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Getting to America and Celebrating the 4th of July.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s no better time than the Fourth of July to celebrate all America can offer. As an immigrant, you have the potential for better work and education, better healthcare, and a generally better life for you and your family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let your American dream come true apply for a Green Card in the upcoming Green Card Lottery using our professional submission service online on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usgreencardoffice.com\/apply\">www.usgreencardoffice.com\/apply<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Independence Day is one of the most celebrated national holidays in the USA. It encompasses America\u2019s love of freedom and its desire to look to the future. To understand why this holiday is so important to both native and immigrant Americans, let\u2019s look at its history and the way it\u2019s celebrated. What is Independence Day? [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2464,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[15],"class_list":["post-932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-the-usa-en","tag-independence-day"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usgreencardoffice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usgreencardoffice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usgreencardoffice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usgreencardoffice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usgreencardoffice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=932"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.usgreencardoffice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5712,"href":"https:\/\/www.usgreencardoffice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932\/revisions\/5712"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usgreencardoffice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usgreencardoffice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usgreencardoffice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usgreencardoffice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}