U.S. MISSION CLOSED FOR JULY 4TH INDEPENDENCE DAY HOLIDAY

June 30, 2006

The U.S. Mission in Nepal, which includes the Embassy, USAID, the Consular Section, and the American Center Library, will be closed on Monday, July 3, and Tuesday, July, 4, to celebrate American Independence Day, a national holiday in the United States.

As thousands of Americans gather this 4th of July to watch fireworks and spend time with friends and family, we remember words spoken by then President Ronald Reagan in 1981: “Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights….”

History:

The Fourth of July, or American Independence Day, is celebrated each year to honor the day America split from British rule. On June 7, 1776, citizens from the 13 original American colonies called for a Continental Congress to declare the United States free, and they started drafting such a document on June 11. After a total of 86 changes were made, the final version was officially adopted on July 4 as the document that we know as the Declaration of Independence. On July 4, 1777, Philadelphia marked the first anniversary of Independence Day with bonfires, bells and fireworks. In 1941, the U.S. Congress declared July 4th a federal holiday.
 
Today the Fourth of July is celebrated the same way. Communities across America mark this major midsummer holiday with parades, fireworks, picnics and the playing of the national anthem, the “Star Spangled Banner.” Friends and families gather to play games and to feast on hotdogs and apple pie. American Independence Day has become a day of celebration across the whole nation, a day in which all the American people unite under one flag. For more information, please see the attached Washington File story, which may also be accessed at: http://usinfo.state.gov/scv/life_and_culture/holidays/july_4.html