Text 905, 95 rader
Skriven 2005-01-18 23:31:14 av DAVE COBLE (1:123/140)
Ärende: Independence Day
========================
Independence Day
by Robert Byron

The anniversary of the independence of the United States of America is
celebrated on July fourth of each year. There are many traditions
associated with this American holiday but few people know the origins of
these customs.

In 1767, England began taxing the tea sent to her American colonies. The
colonists where very much against this "taxation without representation"
and, in protest, refused the unloading of the tea from the ships. The
colonists became so upset about the taxation issue that, in 1773, a band of
colonists invaded the ships of the East India Company while dressed as
Native Americans and tossed a plethora of tea into Boston Harbor. The
incident would soon come to be known as the Boston Tea Party.

Many Americans now celebrate this historic event on July fourth by visiting
the very ocean that contains the tea from the Boston Tea Party. Although
you cannot drink the tea from the ocean, many people symbolize the action
by partaking of their favorite alcoholic beverage. Each summer, hordes of
people can be seen occupying the many beaches of the United States to honor
this historic event. Many people will lay out in the sun until their
epidermis turns red to symbolize the skin color of the Native Americans
that the Boston colonists imitated during their raid.

In 1774, at one of the first coastal celebrations of the Boston Tea Party,
two young men were playing catch with a pie pan when one of the youths
accidentally stepped on Benjamin Franklin. Franklin told the young man,
"Hey kid! Don't tread on me!" The saying was soon incorporated into what is
now known as the Gadsden Flag that was carried into battle during the
revolutionary war.

The story is told of George Washington, the first president of the United
States, when, as a young boy, he chopped down one of his fathers valuable
cherry trees. His father questioned George about the incident and the
younger Washington confessed by saying, "Father, I cannot tell a lie. It
was I who chopped down the cherry tree." For most people, this is where the
story ends but in reality, there is more.

You must understand that during this time of American history, people
wasted very little and there was now a dilemma as to what should be done
with the cherry tree. George Washington's father pondered on the idea and
thought that if only he come up with some kind of food to insert on the
ends of the tree limbs, he could extend the limbs over an open fire in
order to cook the food.

Mr. Washington had another problem as well. Being a pig farmer, he was
receiving complaints from colonial environmentalists about contamination in
the Potomac River by waste runoff from his farm. He solved both of his
problems by collecting the waste, forming it into a tube, inserting the end
of a branch from the cherry tree and roasted it over an open fire. The
wienie roast is still an American Fourth of July tradition today.

During the French and Indian War of 1754-1763, George Washington was taught
the fine art of potato krinkling by a captured French chef. These krinkle
cut potatoes were then cooked in a kettle of animal fat until golden brown.
It is this French delicacy, known as the French Fry, that now accompanies
the main course at a wienie roast.

Later on in U.S. history and during an American Civil War battle at
Manassas, Virginia, known as the Battle of Bull Run, many innocent cattle,
mostly bulls, were slaughtered in their attempt to "run" from the battle.
The bulls attempted to protect the cows and calves and as a result, were
torn to bits by both the Union and Confederate forces. After the battle,
the hungry soldiers collected bits of beef from the ground (ground beef)
and made them into "cow patties." Since the battle occurred just weeks
after the July Fourth celebrations of 1861, these "patties" soon became a
traditional July fourth source of nourishment.

In June of 1776, a Philadelphia seamstress named Betsy Ross was approached
by Thomas Jefferson and asked to design a red, white and blue flag with
thirteen stars and thirteen stripes. Betsy questioned the design saying
that the color and patterns would probably make the appearance of the flag
"too busy" and that project would be aesthetically challenging. She asked
why he would want her to make such a thing as that which he asked. Mr.
Jefferson, not wanting to divulge the true intentions of the endeavor, told
Ms. Ross that the flag was a practical joke for John Adams.

Betsy made the flag but the original colors were entirely too bright. She
washed the fabric until she was satisfied with the color balance and, since
her clothesline was already full with the washing of the day, hung the new
flag on a pole that extended outward from her front porch.

Betsy's neighbors knew that, as a popular seamstress, she was up to date on
the current market trends in apparel fabrics. Seeing that Betsy had
displayed her new fabric from a pole on her front porch, they hurried to
create knockoff fabrics. Soon Americans were displaying copies of Betsy's
flag from their front porches and the tradition is carried on to this day
by the display of the American Flag from the porches of Americans each
Fourth of July.

Copyright 2004 Robert Byron
All Rights Reserved
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
 * Origin: Try Our Web Based QWK: DOCSPLACE.ORG (1:123/140)