July 4th

"So did you celebrate July 4th?"

I looked at the guy asking the question to see if he was being funny.

"What?"

"Did you celebrate July 4th?"

Now the question is only strange when you consider that I am an Englishman that has been in the US for about 3 months. Again I considered the person asking. He says:-

"Don't you celebrate July 4th in England?"

When I answered to the negative I still had to ask was this guy having fun with me. So this is how the rest of the conversation went.

"They celebrate July 4th in Canada"

"No they don't"

"Yes they do"

"What is July 4th?"

"Its when we have barbecue and fireworks"

"Why?"

"Coz its July 4th"

"What about independence day?"

"When's that?"

It was at this time that I realised that the meaning of July 4th was completely lost in this conversation. I could not believe that I was about to give an American history lesson.

"Independence day is when Americans celebrate independence from the British in 1776"

"Well we just celebrate July 4th with barbecue and fireworks"

I have now been working with this guy for 10 years. I understand him a lot better and consider him one of the good guys.

I recall this conversation as my family and I are now naturalised citizens of the US. It was an interesting process that began a long time prior to the ceremony. I had to come to terms with being English and becoming an American and it had nothing to do with opinion but everything to do with history. Along with all of the declarations came the requirement of learning facts about American history.

"Who was the first President?"
"What is Congress?"
"What are the three branches of government"

There was a lot to learn in short space of time. In order to help in the process we searched the internet and developed a list of questions. We did 'Q&A' sessions with our friends and work colleagues. Some of the results where kind of frightening!

I ask my kids as they learn American history what they understand and what it means having parents from England. It is important that they are aware of their heritage and understand where they are from!

So I was walking through work the other day and this guy says to me:-

"Do they celebrate Presidents Day in England?"