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4th of July, My Favorite Family Holiday

For many families, Christmas, Easter, or Thanksgiving are the holidays that they look back on fondly. I too love those holidays. But in my family, my siblings and my only 1st cousin, would all agree our favorite childhood holiday was the 4th of July. We never called it Independence Dayd. Just the 4th of July. In our family, we do holidays pretty big. We love to decorate, cook more food than we can eat in 3 days, and document the entire event in pictures. When all is said and done, the reason we love holidays is that we love to get together as a family.

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As far back as I can remember, we would spend the 4th of July at my grandparent’s home in San Leandro, Ca. We lived in the nearby Livermore Valley, which was always scorching hot, so it was nice to have 4th of July in San Leandro, closer to the San Francisco Bay. The day would be warm but, by evening time we would need light sweaters to stay warm as the Bay Breeze wafted over the area to cool it down for a nice summer evening.

4th of July- My Favorite Holiday- Photo Credit Mary Rachael Morrison

The Infamous Gold Toilet Paper Cover Hat

My grandmother had a gold toilet paper cover with big circle sequins dangling from the sides that covered exactly one extra roll of toilet paper. You might wonder why I have suddenly started talking about a toilet paper cover. Well, I am not sure whose idea it was, but when the nights became cool, I would often end up wearing the toilet paper cover as a makeshift hat. It happened almost every 4th of July of my young life and I have the pictures to prove it.

We would usually spend the whole day with my grandparents, playing in the backyard, goofing around with the neighborhood kids, and waiting with anticipation for the fireworks. As typical kids do, we sometimes came up with our own games. We are a highly competitive family and always have been.

The Games we Played

One particular 4th of July, I remember playing hit the Oak Ball and Apple. Looking back as an adult it was a highly wasteful game, but as a child, I had a blast. We would take oak balls and baby apples that had fallen off of the tree and use badminton rackets to try to hit them over the apartment building on the next street and into an alley.

One particular day my brother hit one of the apples so far and so high we could not see where it had traveled to. Then, we realized that it had become impaled in the badminton racket. This caused us all to fall on the ground in fits of hysterical laughter. To this day it makes me laugh. I am not sure why, but it was so funny at the time and I cherish the memory of my brother’s face as he convulsed in fits of body shaking laughter on the ground.

Remembering 4th of July 1987

The Food

My Grandmother would always serve a buffet for 4th of July. She would set a lovely table filled with wonderful treats that we would collect and eat somewhere in the house or on the back deck. I don’t remember most of the food that was served on 4th of July, just that we always had a Jell-O Salad. I am not sure why that matters, but it did. It is funny because times have changed and not everyone makes Jell-O, but I always feel compelled to make Jell-O salads on 4th of July. I think it makes me feel like my Grandma is still here, and maybe helps me miss her a little less.

After dinner, my Uncle Chuck, Aunt Pattie, Mom, Dad, and Grandpa, as well as, my Brother and I, would take a walk around the neighborhood. I always felt it was an amazing addition to family dinners. It truly was a walk around the neighborhood. Sometimes there would be talking as well, storytelling really, but sometimes just walking. Looking back it seems strange that I thought of it as such a wonderful treat, but it was on the list of “something we do”, and everyone wants to be a part of something. For me, I really loved the after-dinner walk.

The First View Of What Was To Come

Next, my Brother would typically take me into my grandparent’s bedroom where the fireworks would be displayed all over their bed. It was before the days of firework kits or collections. You had to pick out each individual item separately. My Grandpa and Brother would have gone sometime earlier in the day or week to purchase the fireworks. My brother would excitedly show me each piece, starting with the worms, and sparklers, moving to the Piccolo Pete’s, and eventually the “big” fireworks, those that would be reserved for the Grand Finale.

Fireworks Finale

As a younger sister, you don’t always get your older brother’s attention. But, I always wanted it. For some reason, having him spend the time to show me this wonderful collection of fireworks each year was one of the highlights of the day. In addition to the attention, seeing the wonder in his eyes as he shared what each separate firework would do heightened the anticipation of the day’s soon coming finale.

And Then The Show Would Begin

Soon after looking at the fireworks, my Brother would get permission to start doing the punks, worms, and sparklers. There was a little cement base at the bottom of the backyard deck, and that is where we would start the night’s festivities. Usually, my Brother, and eventually my younger cousin Chuck (we called him Chuckie at the time), and my little sister Mary would gather around as my brother started the show. Often my Grandpa, Dad, and Uncle Chuck would gather at the top of the deck.

My friend Debbie Skywriting with sparklers

For anyone who ever did worms or snakes, you know that they were very low on the firework chain. You would light a round pellet on fire, and then it would grow like a winding worm or snake. It was pretty slow and quiet, but it only worked to whet our appetite for what was coming next. As each worm was lit and crawled its way across the cement, growing and turning, our anticipation for the evening grew.

Finally, Darkness Would Fall

Finally, dark would arrive. The grownups would move all of the cars, and we would set up chairs on the front porch. My Grandma would bring out blankets for anyone that was getting too chilly. Then we would see my Grandpa bring out the obligatory pail of water and hose. Every year at this point my Dad would tell the story of a friend of his that had some part of his body injured by a firework.

It was a gruesome story, and I remember wincing while my Dad would tell the story of his childhood friend. I asked my brother recently what the story was, and he said he does not remember ever hearing it. I teased my brother who has an amazing memory. He said that it was not the kind of story boys listen to, after all, it is the danger that adds to the fun. Regardless, its intended effect of causing the listener to be cautious with fireworks always worked on me. And typically, I would not be willing to even light one until well into the evening.

The Stories Would Begin

As the show progressed, and the fireworks got bigger, my Uncle Chuck’s stories would get more and more outlandish. While the stories would become more outlandish, they would also because hysterically funny. He was a great storyteller, and his stories often started somewhat true, but would then twist so that they could have as much comic verve and/ or poignant flair as possible. He would hold the breath of everyone on the porch as they waited for the coming punchline. Never a 4th of July passed without someone spitting out their ill-timed gulp of soda, or someone having to run to the bathroom. He was that funny.

Spending Time with Family watching Fireworks

And Then The Grand Finale

By the time the Grand Finale occurred, everyone else on the block had run out of fireworks. They would bring their chairs to my grandparents to watch the finale. My Grandparents had a place just about in the middle of the block, so all the neighbors and their visiting families would walk down, and sit for the finale. It was always such a good moment, the excitement in the air, the smell of burnt fireworks, and the look of community in the eyes of everyone around. On that day, the whole block was family, and it was good.

As many communities in California have done over the years, when I was 18 the county announced that they would no longer allow home fireworks. That would be the last year. The firework display that last year was the grandest of them all! I can’t even imagine how much my Grandpa spent, but the haul was amazing to look at. Once again, my brother took me, my sister, and my cousin in to see the huge plans for the evening ahead.

4th of July

It was an amazing 4th of July. Everyone went out to the backyard that year to do sparklers, and thankfully, someone took pictures. I don’t want those memories to fade, ever. Because they are not just memories of cool evenings, apple badminton, Jell-O salad, evening walks, funny stories, and fireworks. They are the memories of my family. Regardless of politics, religion, jobs, hometowns, or anything else that mattered the rest of the year, 4th of July was a day that my everyone worked together to put everything aside and be together. Truly together.

And Then The Ride Home

When the evening drew to a close, my Grandmother would pare an apple for each of us. She would cut it up, no skin, and put it in a bag for the ride home. We would crawl into the back of the car, and listen to our parents recap the wonders of the day as we drove out to the valley. If we hit the timing just right, we would see all of the huge sky fireworks as we drove home. We almost always came over the Dublin Grade just as the Alameda County Fair was showing its huge fireworks display. Coming off the hillside it was a spectacular view. We would fall asleep with our apple bags in our laps, and dream of what would come the next year.

Time moves on, it turned out that the last fireworks day in Alameda County. It was also the last 4th of July of my childhood. Within the next two years, both of my grandparents passed away. Their home was sold, and 4th of July changed forever. As I write this post, yes, there are tears in my eyes. Not sad tears, but good tears. Tears of memories, and thanksgiving for a family that created a magical day each year to look back on. I recently visited with my Cousin Chuck and he brought up those wonderful nights. My brother, sister and myself reminisce about them often. I am so thankful.

Celebrating 4th of July

This year, we are planning on heading to my brother’s town for fireworks. My Mother, my grown children and their significant others, and my brother’s family will celebrate together. We are planning a big BBQ! And yes, I will bring the Jell-O salad, since I am now a grandma, and that is what grandma’s do. Of course we will play 4th of Julyopardy. It’s our families much played version of Jeopardy. We will also play Name that Tune with patriotic songs, and whatever we can think of. We probably won’t play hit the apple over the house. Not this year anyway.

My hope is that we will cherish this 4th of July, as we have cherished the past days. We will come together, put everything aside, and take the time to build a day of community. A day where, we as a family, and anyone else who walks past, feels that sense of community. Taking a moment of our busy lives, to put down phones, and opinions, and spend time together. Spending time building memories. I wish you a wonderful, memory filled 4th of July too! I would love to hear about your past 4th of July memories in the comments below! And, fell free to share your plans for the 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!

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Want to read about some more of my holidays? Read about St. Patrick’s Day, and Christmas in my past posts.