{"id":556,"date":"2011-07-03T09:00:35","date_gmt":"2011-07-03T14:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=556"},"modified":"2011-06-03T22:42:54","modified_gmt":"2011-06-04T03:42:54","slug":"happy-birthday-to-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=556","title":{"rendered":"Happy Birthday to US"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On July 4 we will celebrate the birthday of the United States.\u00a0 It commemorates our Declaration of Independence from England and the birth of democracy in our great land.\u00a0 Considered a major holiday, it represents the land of the free and the home of the brave.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We are a diverse nation consisting of many cultures.\u00a0 People flock to the United States seeking the \u201cAmerica dream.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 They are drawn to a land froth with opportunities and possibilities because of the freedoms offered.\u00a0 Freedoms many of us who are born here take for granted.\u00a0 Here is a little patriotic quiz and some trivia to bore friends and family with to get you in the mood to celebrate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>What is our National Anthem? <\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the Star Spangled Banner.\u00a0 Although you have to be an operatic student to be able to sing it and do it justice when you hit \u201cand the rockets red glare…\u201d\u00a0 However we all chime in when we get to \u201cand the home of the brave.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s because we know it\u2019s over and we can take a deep breath and sit down.<\/p>\n

What is our National Bird?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the bald eagle.\u00a0 We all know Benjamin Franklin lobbied for the turkey but lost to a more majestic creature.\u00a0 The bald eagle was chosen for its strength, long life, and supposedly during some battle in the Revolutionary War a nest of them awoke, shrieked loudly, and soared overhead.\u00a0\u00a0 Fortunately turkeys don\u2019t soar or we would be having chicken every Thanksgiving.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

What is our National Flower?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the rose.\u00a0 In 1986 Congress passed a joint resolution and President Reagan signed a proclamation to make the rose our \u201cnational floral emblem.\u201d\u00a0 Poetic justice probably dictates a flower with beauty and thorns was chosen.\u00a0 Freedoms do not come easily.<\/p>\n

Obscure Fourth of July Trivia <\/strong><\/p>\n

The following people were born on the Fourth of July: composer Stephen Foster, playwright Neil Simon, advice columnists Ann Landers and Dear Abby, President Calvin Coolidge, author Nathaniel Hawthorne, Yankee Doodle Dandy\u2019s<\/em> George M. Cohan, and Tom Cruise.<\/p>\n

(Actually Tom Cruise was born on July 3 but he did star in the movie Born on the Fourth of July<\/em> so I thought he deserved an honorable mention.)\u00a0 And let\u2019s not forget Louis Armstrong who celebrated his birthday on July 4 even though he was actually born on August 4.\u00a0 That patriotic little Satchmo!<\/p>\n

Three presidents died on July 4:\u00a0 Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Monroe.<\/p>\n

On July 4, 1876 Susan B. Anthony read the Declaration of Rights for Women at Freedom Hall in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

On July 4, 1881 Booker T. Washington opened the Tuskagee Institute.<\/p>\n

On July 4, 1882 Buffalo Bill opened his Wild West Show and toured the country for 35 years.<\/p>\n

On July 4, 1895 America the Beautiful is first printed.\u00a0 (A mighty fine, patriotic song in a singable key, I might mention.)<\/p>\n

On July 4, 1884 France gave the Statue of Liberty to the U.S.<\/p>\n

And my personal favorite, on July 4, 1778 George Washington helped the nation celebrate by giving double portions of rum to the troops, which in my opinion is a grand way to celebrate a birthday!<\/p>\n

Happy Birthday to US!<\/strong><\/p>\n

As we eat the barbecue and watch the fireworks this year, let\u2019s remember the United States of America is more than a song, a bird, a flower, or trivia to be forgotten.\u00a0 In fact, there is nothing trivial about this great country of ours or what it represents.\u00a0 Dreams!\u00a0 Ideas!\u00a0 Blessings!\u00a0 Freedom!<\/p>\n

So Happy Birthday to US!\u00a0 And may God continue to bless America, stand beside her, and guide her…our home, sweet home!\u00a0 (Which is another mighty fine, patriotic, inspirational song in a singable key, I might mention!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On July 4 we will celebrate the birthday of the United States.\u00a0 It commemorates our Declaration of Independence from England and the birth of democracy in our great land.\u00a0 Considered a major holiday, it represents the land of the free … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}