No place else in the country, to my knowledge, is as an entire state willing to ignore the real birth date of the United States of America and just call it another day
By: Perhaps I'm Easily Offended
Is anyone else offended, or bothered, or even just intrigued by Utah’s celebration of the Fourth of July on the 2d, or the 3d, or the 5th, or any day other than the 4th ? Just because it falls on a Sunday?
Isn’t it odd that in this land of the red white and blue super-conservative-liberty-loving-flag-waving-hyper-patriot, the damned state can’t even get the country’s birth date right?
The 4th of July is the 4th of July is the 4th of July. Period. It’s a national holiday. Independence Day. The 4th of July. Not the 2d, 3d, or 5th. The FOURTH.!
If you want to spend your morning or your afternoon in church and miss the parade, fine. Do it. But don’t move MY parade, or MY celebration breakfast, or MY flyover, or MY town picnic, or MY fireworks to some other day because you want to (or have to) spend the day in church.
No place else in the country, to my knowledge, is as an entire state willing to ignore the real birth date of the United States of America and just call it another day. Just another Utah Sunday. Other places in the country have religions, and churches, and most of them have services on Sunday. Even on the Fourth of July. And they don’t move the holiday.
Amazing.
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17 comments:
Dear Perhaps,
I'm offended too, but we live in a theocracy. That's just the way it is. Utah is a beautiful place to live and part of it's being affordable is because outsiders don't want to live in a theocracy.
In time, the percentage of heathens and gentiles will increase and things will change. For now enjoy being able to be one of only 10 people in Home Depot on a Sunday. It ain't like that anywhere else in America.
Atheist
I'm with you on the Home Depot Sunday shopping thing. I try to save all of my shopping trips - Home Depot, Smiths, Cosco, etc - for Sundays. It seems like the best time to venture out into the world here on the Wasatch Front is on Sunday when all the Mo's are busy at the Waaaaard sending up their incantations to the Laaaard in Heaven.
It seems that I recall that the 4th of July was chosen for the day of independence because that is when the stragglers signed the declaration. Most of the signatures came on the 2nd of July if my fading memory serves me right. There could perhaps be an argument made that the 2nd should be the magic day instead of the 4th and that our dear MoMo brothers and sisters are actually correctomundo on changing the date from the 4th.
Maybe Mr. Curmudgeon can set us straight on this, that is unless he is busy doing his home teaching today.
The Sierra Club's annual hike to the Mollen's Hollow Overlook will take place on the 4th as usual. All are welcome! See http://utah.sierraclub.org/ogden/outings/ for more information.
Oz:
Actually some of the "signers" signed weeks later. The colonies declared their independence on the 2nd, as you note, not the 4th. But it took too days to complete the necessary paperwork [engrossing, recording,etc.] which was finished on the 4th, --- gummint work, waddaya expect? --- hence, the date we celebrate.
You can celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence on any day you choose. You do not need parades, fireworks or any organized celebration to commerate the day of our independeence. Organize your own ceremony on the day of your choosing. Citizens can remember and honor the day any way they so choose.
I think the decision when to hold parades is largely a community decision, not a state decision, isn't it? I just checked Park Cit Events page and they're holding their 4th of July Parade on the 4th. [It's a fun small city parade; half the community is in the parade, the other half on the sidewalk waving to them. ]
The other argument that could be made for avoiding Sunday parades is this: many people here in Zion will not attend a Sunday parade. Will not. And so, to garner the largest number of participants in a patriotic celebration, moving it to the 3rd seems a defensible idea. What's the point, really, of holding a patriotic celebration on a day when you know, you absolutely know, that many people who would normally attend will not?
Maybe they're from Vicksburg.
I agree with "Perhaps I am too easily offended". So much so I wrote the Huntsville Town 4th celebration organizer and Town Council the following:
Is Utah in America? Huntsville in America? If yes, then why would the 4th of July be on the 3rd of July? Outrageous!! As for me and mine, we will celebrate the 4th of July properly, like the rest of America. Shame on Utah and Huntsville Town.
Like it or not (and I don't particularly like it), the 4th is a BIG money maker for many communities.
As Curmudgeon said, the attendance at most small town Sunday events would be very low.
You can choose to be offended, or you can do as I will do - celebrate our Independence on July 3rd, 4th and 5th - possibly at several cities.
If you want to be part of a truly incredible Patriotic program, you will attend the program after the Huntsville parade. The flag ceremony will also be very patriotic.
I will be there and I won't be in church on the 4th, but instead giving our great land a three day celebration. How better to honor our founding fathers?
God before Country?
Man, I'm rolling in my grave.
Great idea to celebrate someplace else that observes the 4th of July on the 4th of July.
As for the Patriotic Program after the parade, I will pass on some kid reading their $1,000 prize for an essay written by their greed head parent(s).
The problem is small Towns who commercialize a patriotic holiday are sadly whores or at least misguided or poorly led/administered.
The previous "regime" was all about trying to make big bucks off those who either live in places like Huntsville, or are returning relatives of those from there.
The "celebration" is abusive and unrelated to small town values and traditions. No more "patriotic" than paying Boy Scouts to put up flags on flag day. Trouble is so many people have forgotten small town values and traditions they actually look forward to over charging kids and mostly strangers for pancake breakfasts, craft and game booths/slots, rides which cost nothing to put on and such. And sadly the "profits" from such gross commercialized abuse is looked upon as a challenge to exceed the next year.
In a word "Pathetic".
So what happens when the 24th of July falls on Sunday?
Ray
Pioneer day then is celebrated on the 23rd, or is it the 25th? Here in the land of Oz it is sometimes hard to tell what is up and what is down.
You must be a NoMoMo to ask!
I'm celebrating it on the 4th whether it's Sunday or Tuesday. For the state to avoid the actual holiday just because it's a Sunday is not new (they do this to Halloween too) however it is completely head-up-the-a$$ stoopid. I've come to expect such things from this state.
Americans don't know why we celebrate 4th of July
I am from Ohio. And I have NEVER seen a state focused on itself during a NATIONAL holiday! You don't celebrate the 4th of July, yet stores, work places, etc... take get days off for pioneer days. What is more important to Utah is NOT what is more important to the rest of the country! Does this seem odd? When I moved here I thought how weird that a whole state worships pioneer days to such an extent. My family will be moving out of this state next year. So we will be enjoying our country's REAL HOLIDAY, not Utah's!
No GOU! Please stay! We need people like you to offset the inbred religionists.
Please reconsider.
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