The Embassy Celebrates Independence Day

June 28, 2012

At the Fourth of July reception an honor guard of U.S. Marines advances to present the colors to Ambassador Eisen and the Czech President Vaclav Klaus.

Ambassador Eisen delivers his remarks at the 4th of July reception.

On June 27, 2012, Ambassador Norman Eisen hosted the traditional Independence Day reception at the Ambassador's residence in Prague. Among the distinguished guests were Czech President Vaclav Klaus, Prime Minister Petr Necas, Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament Miroslava Němcová, and many Czech politicians, academics and foreign diplomats.

"Today we celebrate the 236th anniversary of American independence. This is a day of gratitude, and one of the things for which we are grateful are our friends around the world. As I have often said, the United States has no closer friend anywhere in the world than the Czech Republic. On behalf of President Obama, Secretary Clinton, our Embassy family, and my personal family, I thank each and every one of you for that friendship," said the Ambassador in his speech on the occasion of the Independence Day celebration. His remarks in full you can read here.

Independence Day is celebrated on July 4 because on that day independence from Britain was officially declared.  On July 8, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read publicly for the first time.  Bells rang out, bands played, and ships fired their guns; people lit candles and set off firecrackers.  But not until 1941 was Independence Day officially declared a federal legal holiday.

Every Fourth of July Americans have a holiday from work or school.  Communities and families have all-day picnics with favorite foods like hot dogs and hamburgers, potato salad, baked beans, pie, and watermelon.  Afternoon activities would not be complete without lively music, a friendly baseball game, or Frisbee toss, and maybe, a three-legged race, and a pie-eating or watermelon-eating contest.  Some cities have parades with people dressed as the original “founding fathers” or early colonists, who march to the music of high school bands.  At dusk, people gather to watch the local fireworks display.