The United States has a lot of federal holidays, and when you teach people who didn’t grow up in America, it’s sometimes challenging to explain some of these holidays. The 4th of July is one of those holidays that everyone enjoys, but immigrants don’t always have the historical knowledge to understand it — particularly if they didn’t grow up in a Western European country with historical ties to America. Here are some things that most Americans know without actually having to think about them, but which immigrants often don’t know.
Many of them don’t know that the United States started out as a British colony. To help them understand this, you need to spend some time talking about the Age of Exploration and how it led countries in Europe to “claim” the lands they “discovered.” This takes a lot of explanation.
If they’ve heard of the “Declaration of Independence,” they don’t know about the Continental Congress and the decision to ask Thomas Jefferson to write this document. They don’t always know where Philadelphia is. They don’t know have any idea what the US was like in 1776.
They’ve generally heard of the American Revolution, but they usually can’t place it in history and don’t know about its connection to the Declaration of Independence. They don’t recognize the place names that most Americans know about (even if their knowledge is skimpy) – Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Yorktown – and if they’ve heard of George Washington, they often don’t know that he was a general before he was President.
They don’t understand the symbolism of the American flag, and often are puzzled when they see flags that look like the one on the left, below, rather than the one on the right
They have probably heard the “Star-Spangled Banner,” but they don’t know anything about its origins in the War of 1812. To be fair, many Americans couldn’t tell you much about that either.
“Uncle Sam” figures on stilts in parades flummox them.
They also don’t really understand the whole “Pledge of Allegiance” thing that happens a lot at July 4th events. Other countries don’t require this kind of organized ritualization of citizenship.
A place like Williamsburg, which celebrates the 18th century more than most communities in America do, has a lot of 4th of July celebrations, as you would expect. People come to Williamsburg specifically to spend the 4th here. Some of the things going on all around us have specific links to history – fireworks, recitations of the Declaration of Independence. Other events – not so much.
Family games on the boardwalk at Yorktown,
a Jazz Band Concert,
a 4th of July Independence Day 8k Run/Walk
Random bell-ringing and drumming
Classic Car shows.
Wherever you are and whatever your background, Happy 4th of July.
"...organized ritualization of citizenship." Perfect.