The Fourth of July is a great time of the year for the five F's -- freedom, food, family, friends, and fireworks. It just doesn't get much better than celebrating the independence you're extremely blessed to experience with your closest people by your side, enjoying pounds of grilled burgers and hot dogs as well as potato chips and various salads. All day you play corn hole, hillbilly golf, and other lawn games while the men crack a cold one. By the time the night comes, it's time to let off some fireworks and give a show to everyone there, as well as the people down the road.
Sometimes people begin their Fourth celebrations a few days earlier, which seems to be fine by most standards just because all the different public shows need to spread out their dates so a decent amount of people can come. However, as soon as one firework goes off past the Fourth, people seem to get into an uproar. Suddenly you're seeing tweets about how it isn't the Fourth anymore, so fireworks shouldn't be going off. I tend to disagree for as long as up to a week later, honestly. It's still around the Fourth of July, so why not? Why is it not acceptable? Why do people get that angry about it?
It seems as though for all the holidays, we have an expectation that there are only a couple of days designated to celebrate it. You go to your grandparents for Thanksgiving, and it's over that same day. Easter is only celebrated that Sunday. Halloween is celebrated a few days before at colleges. The Fourth of July should only have a couple of days before, but nothing after. Yet, the same people who complain about late fireworks are the same people who listen to Christmas music in September and decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving has even happened. This is months in advance for a holiday that also technically is one day, but if I shoot off my fireworks a couple days late it's suddenly a problem. I'm not sure that's something I really understand.
If I can't shoot off my fireworks in celebration of a holiday that just happened three days ago and I couldn't celebrate it at the time, then you can't decorate for Christmas before another holiday even happens or listen to music on repeat for months prior. I live in the country, so truly the noise isn't bothering anyone. If anything, you get to see more beautiful fireworks for free, so what is the issue? Whether it's two days before or two days after, it's still the same amount of time, so relax and enjoy them for the ten minutes that they're happening. At least it isn't months before or after.
Let me enjoy my holiday a little later, and I'll let you enjoy your holiday way before.
