In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July or the Fourth, is a holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring the independence of the Thirteen Colonies from the United Kingdom of Great Britain. On Independence Day there are many events such as fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, picnics, concerts, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events. These events celebrate the history, government, and traditions of the United States.
Independence Day, the only holiday that celebrates the United States, is a national holiday marked by patriotic displays. Similar to other summer-themed events, Independence Day celebrations often take place outdoors. Independence Day is a federal holiday, so all non-essential federal institutions (like the postal service and federal courts) are closed on that day. Many politicians make it a point on this day to appear at a public event to praise the nation's heritage, laws, history, society, and people.
Families often celebrate Independence Day by having or going to a picnic or barbecue, and take advantage of the day off and in some years, long weekend to gather with relatives and friends. People may also do fun and relaxing hobbies like any other day off such as swimming, fishing, boating, sunbathing, playing sports, or just kicking back and relaxing. Many stores are open on the fourth so people may go shopping. In the evening, people may launch their own fireworks. Decorations (e.g., streamers, balloons, and clothing) are generally colored red, white, and blue, the colors of the American flag. Parades often are in the morning, while fireworks displays occur in the evening at such places as parks, fairgrounds, or town squares.
On the 4th of July Americans do these things:
Juneteenth National Independence Day
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office or Microsoft Office System is a collection of computer programs made by Microsoft. Microsoft Office is a collection of office-related applications. Each application serves a unique purpose and offers a specific service to its users. The programs are created for all users. There are different versions of the software for home users and for business users. Some versions may offer more programs, and some versions cost less than others, but none are for free. The current version is Microsoft Office 2016 (Windows) and Microsoft Office for Mac 2016 (Mac).
The versions available are made up of some or all or more of the following programs:
There are a lot of other programs which are competitors to Microsoft Office.
Microsoft Office 365 is a new way of sharing Microsoft Office documents with people from your organization or between your computers, syncing to the cloud. In order to sync to the cloud, you need a Microsoft account.
Actual versions include:
You can get a free trial of Office for 30 days.
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia. It was originally the dialect that developed among the Afrikaner Protestant settlers, the unfree workers, and slaves brought to the Cape area in southwestern South Africa by the Dutch East India Company ( - VOC) between 1652 and 1705. Most of these first settlers were from the United Provinces (now Netherlands), though there were also many from Germany, some from France, a few from Scotland, and various other countries. The unfree workers and slaves were Malays, and Malagasy in addition to the native Khoi and Bushmen.
Research by J. A. Heese says that until 1807, 36.8% of the ancestors of the White Afrikaans speaking population were Dutch, 35% were German, 14.6% were French and 7.2% non-white (of African and/or Asian origins).
Heese's figures are questioned by other researchers, however, and especially the non-white component quoted by Heese is very much in doubt.
A sizeable minority of those who spoke Afrikaans as a first language were not white. The dialect became known as "Cape Dutch". Later, Afrikaans was sometimes called "African Dutch" or "Kitchen Dutch". Afrikaans was considered a Dutch dialect until the early 20th century, when it began to be widely known as a different language. The name "Afrikaans" is simply the Dutch word for "African", and the language is the African form of Dutch.
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein (August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American composer and conductor. He was born Louis Bernstein in Lawrence, Massachusetts to Ukrainian Jewish parents. He is best known for conducting the New York Philharmonic and composing "West Side Story" and "Candide".
Bernstein was gay.
He was a heavy smoker who had emphysema. He died of a heart attack in New York City.
Afrikaans Language Monument
The Afrikaans Language Monument () is the only monument in the world dedicated to a language. It is on a hill overlooking the Teachers' Training College in Paarl, Western Cape Province, South Africa. Completed in 1975, it was built to celebrate the 100 years birthday of Afrikaans being declared as a different language from Dutch.
The monument is made of tapering structures of a convex and concave nature. They show the influences of different languages and cultures on Afrikaans itself. They are also a symbol of political developments in South Africa, as follows:
On a large inscription at the entrance, two quotes from important Afrikaans poets are written.
The phrase ""DIT IS ONS ERNS"" ("we are earnest [about this]", or "this is our earnestness") is inscribed on the pathway leading up to the monument.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is an American comic book company. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., which itself is owned by Time Warner. Its top rival is Marvel Comics. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, which is best well known for making "superhero" comic books. DC Comics is very famous in the modern art subject Graphics.
The company's most iconic heroic characters are Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, the Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Speedy, Supergirl, Batwoman, Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, the Atom, Firestorm, Rip Hunter, Vibe, Vixen, Black Lightning, Red Tornado, the Black Canary, White Canary, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Plastic Man, Blue Beetle, John Constantine, Stargirl, the Huntress, Static, Zatanna, and Shazam!.
Most of their characters take place in the fictional DC Universe and its most famous and recognizable teams are the Justice League, the Justice Society of America, the Green Lantern Corps., the Legion of Super-Heroes, the Injustice League, the Justice League Dark, the Legion of Super-Villains, the Young Justice, the Suicide Squad, the Birds of Prey, the Legends of Tomorrow, and the Teen Titans.
Its most well-known fictional supervillains are Lex Luthor, the Joker, Darkseid, Harley Quinn, General Zod, Catwoman, Brainiac, the Scarecrow, Doomsday, Bane, Parasite, Mr. Freeze, Metallo, the Penguin, Mongul, the Riddler, Anti-Monitor, the Enchantress, Two-Face, Steppenwolf, Mister Mxyzptlk, Clayface, Atlas, Killer Croc, Bizarro, Ra's al Ghul, Cyborg Superman, Poison Ivy, Ares, Mad Hatter, Maxwell Lord, Deathstroke, Doctor Poison, Deadshot, Circe, Black Mask, Star Sapphire, Professor Pyg, the Cheetah, Carmine Falcone, Sinestro, Red Hood, Black Manta, Killer Moth, the Reverse-Flash, Firefly, Captain Cold, Man-Bat, Heat Wave, Hugo Strange, Killer Frost, and Black Adam.