{"id":1229,"date":"2026-06-03T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/croswellpresbyterian.org\/?p=1229"},"modified":"2026-07-03T09:16:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T13:16:32","slug":"origin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/croswellpresbyterian.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/03\/origin\/","title":{"rendered":"July 4th"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>\u00a0The holiday reflects the colonies\u2019 desire for self-governance and freedom from British taxation and laws. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Traditions and Celebrations Independence Day is associated with a wide range of\u00a0festive activities, including:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><em>Fireworks displays\u00a0across cities and towns<\/em><\/li><li><em>Parades\u00a0featuring marching bands, veterans, and local organizations<\/em><\/li><li><em>Barbecues, picnics, and family gatherings<\/em><\/li><li><em>Concerts, fairs, and carnivals<\/em><\/li><li><em>Baseball games and public ceremonies<\/em><\/li><li><em>Patriotic music and flag displays\u00a0in homes and public spaces<br>These celebrations honor American history, government, and cultural traditions, making the Fourth of July the nation\u2019s most prominent patriotic holiday.<\/em><\/li><li><em>Federal Holiday Observance Independence Day is one of\u00a0eleven federal holidays\u00a0in the United States. On this day,\u00a0non-essential federal government offices are closed, and federal employees receive paid time off\u00a0. In 2026, July 4 falls on a\u00a0Saturday, so the federal holiday will be\u00a0observed on Friday, July 3, for most federal workers and many businesses\u00a0. Post offices will be closed on the observed holiday, and mail delivery will be limited to priority services, while banks may also adjust their schedules<\/em>.<\/li><li><em>Fun Facts<\/em><\/li><li><em>Three U.S. presidents\u2014John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe\u2014died on July 4, with Adams and Jefferson passing on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration\u00a0<\/em><\/li><li><em>The holiday has been officially recognized as a federal holiday since\u00a01870, with nationwide celebrations becoming more standardized over time\u00a0<br>Independence Day remains a symbol of American freedom, unity, and national pride, celebrated with both public events and private family traditions across the country<\/em><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0The holiday reflects the colonies\u2019 desire for self-governance and freedom from British taxation and laws. Traditions and Celebrations Independence Day is associated with a wide range of\u00a0festive activities, including: Fireworks displays\u00a0across cities and towns Parades\u00a0featuring marching bands, veterans, and local organizations Barbecues, picnics, and family gatherings Concerts, fairs, and carnivals Baseball games and public ceremonies [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[46],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/croswellpresbyterian.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1229"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/croswellpresbyterian.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/croswellpresbyterian.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/croswellpresbyterian.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/croswellpresbyterian.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1229"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"https:\/\/croswellpresbyterian.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4272,"href":"https:\/\/croswellpresbyterian.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1229\/revisions\/4272"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/croswellpresbyterian.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/croswellpresbyterian.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/croswellpresbyterian.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/croswellpresbyterian.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}