What to Know About Fourth of July Holiday Origins and Traditions

What to Know About Fourth of July Holiday Origins and Traditions
Fireworks explode over the Las Vegas Strip during a 4th of July Fireworks show in Las Vegas on July 4, 2021. John Locher/AP Photo
The Associated Press
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ST. LOUIS—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.