What to know about Fourth of July holiday origins and traditions

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July 3rd, 2023

FILE - Dominique Tafoya arranges some of the new fireworks stock at a local fireworks concession stand, July 1, 2011, in Phoenix. Extremely hot, dry conditions forecast through the Fourth of July across much of the West are heightening concerns about wildfires and the dangers of fireworks. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

The Fourth of July is Americana at its core: parades and cookouts and cold beer and, of course, fireworks.

Those pyrotechnics also make it an especially dangerous holiday, typically resulting in more than 10,000 trips to the emergency room. Yet fireworks remain at the center of Independence Day, a holiday 247 years in the making.

Here are five things to know about July Fourth, including the origin of the holiday and how fireworks became part of the tradition.

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