No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.
Nathaniel Hawthorne

Life is made up of marble and mud.
Nathaniel Hawthorne

I went to the woods because I wished to … see if I could not learn what it [life] had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
Henry David Thoreau, American writer, who moved to Walden Pond on July 4, 1845

O, Susanna! O don't you cry for me,
I've come from Alabama wid my banjo on my knee.
Stephen Foster, American songwriter, born on July 4, 1826; 'O! Susanna'

'Way down upon de Swanee Ribber,
Far, far away,
Dere's wha my heart is turning ebber,
Dere's wha de old folks stay.
Stephen Foster; 'Old Folks at Home'

I bet my money on the bob-tail nag,
Somebody bet on the bay.
Stephen Foster; 'Camptown Races'

This wine which is only white to make the sun come up
because the sun runs its hands through its hair.
Benjamin Peret, French poet, born on July 4, 1899

I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy,
A Yankee Doodle, do or die;
A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam's,
Born on the fourth of July.
George M Cohan, American songwriter, born on July 4, 1878; 'The Yankee Doodle Boy' (1904)

July 4 is the 185^th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (186^th in leap years), with 180 days remaining.
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Independence Day, United States (1776)

The Fourth of July, in its most narrow sense referring to July 4, refers in the United States to that country's Independence Day, a public holiday celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

It is commonly associated with fireworks, barbecues, picnics and other public celebratory events.

The celebration itself is a historical misnomer. American independence was declared on the night of July 2, 1776; however, the Declaration of Independence was not actually adopted until July 4.

The founding fathers themselves thought that July 2 would be the day celebrated. John Adams, writing to his wife Abigail Adams, noted: "The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epocha in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward for evermore." (July 3, 1776)

 

'Vastlands of Innocence (for July 4)'

 

In the vastlands of innocence,

Liberty and Justice

sang to a southland and we heard the call.

We are torn, we're all born on the Fourth of July,

purple mountain majesty washed over all

Australia's red rocks and her blue mountain pall.

 

O vastlands of innocence,

manifest destiny,

great people, just people, people just the same.

They pulled down their king for a trivial thing,

and raised up another who sullied their name.

O beautiful for spacious skies and Richard Nixon's shame.

 

In the vastlands of innocence,

in the wide dreaming,

mansions of marble and motels of mud.

We marvel and wonder when we hear distant thunder,

will it bring rains of plenty, or does it speak flood?

Jefferson, Franklin, or movies of blood?

 

O the vastlands of innocence,

Swaggart and Leary,

they send us provisions at our own behest.

Marlboro and medicine, Manson and Edison,

they ship us their best but then ship us the rest.

O would that their captains would heed our request!

 

In the vastlands of innocence,

by the blue harbour,

'W' dared and he ventured to touch

on his favourite oration, The World's Greatest Nation.

Sweet Jesus forgive him, he ain't travelled much,

and vanity in vain, isn't vanity as such.

 

The vastlands of innocence,

Fonzie and Whitman,

adored in dark theatres and the rockets' red glare,

we never will hate them, condemn or berate them

and part of our hearts is in their love affair.

But we must implore that the rumours of war

will wither like whispers in yesterday's air,

like the whimpers of babies, like Mary's last prayer.
The blood-spangled banner of hunger's unfurled –

let the vastlands still sing the Pursuits, for the World.

 

Pip Wilson

'Yankee Doodle' origins 1    'Yankee Doodle' origins 2  (thanks Deb Garriott)

Frederick Douglass, 'What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?', July 5, 1852

Early progressives in the Book of Days    American history patriotic photo downloads

Feast day of Pax, Goddess of Peace  (Our Lady of Peace), Roman mythology

Pax was the ancient Roman goddess and spirit of peace, represented in art as a young woman bearing a cornucopia, or horn of plenty, as well as an olive branch and a sheaf of corn. She later became known as Pax Romana. Pax ('peace') was recognized as a goddess during the rule of Augustus.

On the Campus Martius (Field of Mars, God of War), she had a minor sanctuary called the Ara Pacis, dedicated to her on January 30, 9 BCE. Her temple was on the Forum Pacis (Templum Pacis) built by Emperor Vespasian on the site of a meat market, and was dedicated in 75. She was depicted in art with olive branches, a cornucopia and a sceptre. Pax became celebrated (in both senses of the word) as Pax Romana and Pax Augusta from the 2^nd Century BCE.

Roman festivals and notable days in the Book of Days    Deities of many cultures in the Book of Days

Baal fire day, Whalton, UK

In the Northumbrian village of Whalton today is traditionally the day for lighting the baal fire. This bonfire's name comes not from the god Baal but from either the Celtic bel meaning bright, or Anglo-Saxon bael, fire. Or perhaps it comes from the old British sun god Belenus, 'the Shining One'.

At about 7.30 pm a bonfire is lit on the village green around which people make music, leap through the flames and perform traditional morris dancing around the fire.

In ancient times a select group of young people used to gather wood in the forest and cart it into the village to the sound of a cart horn.

The custom's ancient origins relate to the old date of midsummer, which was changed in 1752 when the English calendar was adjusted by eleven days to make up for discrepancies.  

Belenus, from Wikipedia: In Celtic mythology, Belenus (also Belinus, Belenos, Belinos, Belinu, Bellinus, Belus, Bel) was a deity worshipped in Gaul, Britain and Celtic areas of Italy and Austria. He had shrines from Aquilea on the Adriatic to Inveresk in Scotland. His name means "shining one" and he is associated with fire and healing. He may be the same deity as Belatu-Cadros. In the Roman period he was identified with Apollo. His wife was Belisama.

Was this god the British Apollo?

The difficulty of working out to which deity inhabitants of Roman Britain are referring when they mention Apollo is profound. In ancient Gaul, Apollo may have been equated with fifteen different Celtic gods. The solar implications of Belenus ('The Brilliant One') would have encouraged syncretism with the god Apollo. Some of the soubriquets of Belenus, such as Grannus ('Boiling') and Borvo ('Heat') link Belenus with healing, with which Apollo was also associated. 'Boiling Brilliance' (Belenus Grannus) and 'Brilliant Heat' (Belenus Borvo) would naturally be linked to healing by virtue of the logical connection with the therapeutic capacity of warmth, whether of water, fire or sun.

Welsh ancestor-deity Beli may be derived from Belenus, although his character and attributes are different. The Irish festival of Beltaine may also be connected, or may derive from the same Celtic root, bel-, "shining". The Irish mythical figure Bile ('sacred tree') is sometimes linked with Belenus, but neither the linguistics nor the myths match. Nineteenth-Century attempts to link him with the Semitic deity Baal are even more tenuous and are now rejected.

The legendary kings Belinus and Heli in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain are probably also derived from this god.

The name of the ancient British king Cunobelinus means "hound of Belenus".

Associations between the Welsh Beli and the Irish Bile

See also Bel in the Book of Days; Deities of many cultures in the Book of Days

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Bullion's Day (Feast day of the Translation of St Martin of Bullion) His saint's day (Martinmas)  is November 11, but today is a feast day, still known in the Anglican Church) commemorating the day this saint's bones were relocated. An old proverb says that if the deer rise dry and lie down dry today, it was a sign of a good gose-harvest, 'gose' being a name for the latter end of summer. In Europe it was generally believed that rain on this day foretold wet weather for the next twenty days. This saint is usually shown in art as a young mounted soldier. Once, while on horseback in Amiens in Gaul (modern France), he encountered a naked beggar and impulsively cut his own military cloak in half and shared it. That night, Martin saw in a vision Jesus wrapped in the half of the cloak that he had given away. Jesus said to him, "Martin, yet a catechumen, has covered me with this garment". At this point, Martin decided he was ready for baptism and holy orders. He became bishop of Tours, France in 371. His supposed coat became one of Christendom's most sacred relics, held by the Merovingian kings of the Franks. Once, while St Martin was at prayer in his cell, the devil came in without knocking, holding in his hand a horn covered with blood. "I've just killed one of your people," Satan told the saint – indeed, the monastery's carrier had just been gored by a bull. At this, Martin resolved to fight the surrounding devils by destroying all the pagan temples in the district. He was soon seeing devils everywhere, and this enabled him to keep out of the way of his own devil. This is probably a piece of folklore that derives from the suppression in Europe of the pagan cult of Cernunnos, the Horned God. See also the Martinmas page in the Scriptorium   Feast day of St Albert Quadrelli Feast day of St Andrew of Crete Feast day of St Aurelian of Lyons Feast day of St Bertha, widow, abbess of Blangy (Formerly) Feast day of St Bolcan (Olcan of Kilmayle), Bishop of Derban, Northern Ireland; disciple of St Patrick (now celebrated on February 20) Feast day of St Catherine Jarrige Feast day of St Edward Fulthrop Feast day of St Elizabeth of Portugal Feast day of St Finbar of Wexford (of Crimlen) Feast day of St Haggai Feast day of St Hatto Feast day of St Henry Abbot Feast day of St Henry of Albano Feast day of St Hosea Feast day of St Innocent Feast day of St John Carey Feast day of St John Cornelius Feast day of St Joseph Kowalski Feast day of St Jucundian Feast day of St Laurian of Seville Feast day of St Namphanion the Archmartyr Feast day of St Odo the Good, Archbishop of Canterbury Feast day of St Patrick Salmon Feast day of St Peter of Luxembourg Feast day of St Pier Giorgio Frassati Feast day of St Sebastia Feast day of St Sisoes, or Sisoy, anchoret in Egypt Feast day of St Theodore of Cyrene Feast day of St Thomas Bosgrave Feast day of St Thomas Warcop Feast day of St Ulric (Udalric; Uodalric; Odalrici; Ulrich of Augsburg) (Copper day lily [Tawny day lily], Hemerocallis fulva, is today's plant, dedicated to St Ulric.)   St Ulrich (890 - 973) was Bishop of Augsburg and a leader of the German church. He was the first saint to be canonized. Ulric was the son of a German count. When Ulrich was too old and weak to say Mass, angels are said to have come to him to assist him. He died at Augsburg, July 4, 973; after his death his ashes were laid in the form of a cross on a floor. It was an old custom for people to bring offerings of fish in Ulric's memory to churches on this day. So maybe it's a good day for a fish dinner. More Feast day of St William Andleby Feast day of St William of Hirsau Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days    Shop saints Dog Days, ancient Rome (Jul 3 - Aug 11) Hakata Yamagasa, Japan (Jul 1 - 15) Gion Matsuri, Kyoto, Japan (all of July) Gahan Ceremonial Around this time the Mescalero Apache Native Americans honour the mountain spirits. It is also the time of the sun dance of the Southern Utes, performed for the sun god. American Independence Day … Denmark American Independence Day has been celebrated officially in Denmark since 1909. Especially in Rebild National Park in the north of Jutland, Danish-Americans in their thousands celebrate Danish-American relations. In previous years, speakers at Rebild have included members of the Danish royal family and former USA presidents George HW Bush, Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. Alaska's F-Day, or Flag Day Today is the anniversary of July 4, 1959, when Alaska became a US state and the 49th star was added to the American flag. F-Day, or Flag Day, Hawaii July 4, 1960, the 50th star, representing the new state of Hawaii, became part of the American flag. Caricom Day, Barbados, Guyana and St Vincent Today's public holiday commemorates the establishment of the Caribbean Community, by which ten member states formed an economic and political community. Filipino-American Friendship Day Today is a public holiday in the Philippines in which American institutions are honoured. Garibaldi Day, Italy The great military genius and adventurer, Giuseppe Garibaldi, is commemorated today. He was born on this day in 1807. Tom Sawyer Fence-painting Day, Hannibal, Missouri, USA In Mark Twain's famous writings, Tom Sawyer enticed his friends to paint a fence for him by pretending he was enjoying the laborious task. Today in the home town of this fictional character, people re-enact the event with a fence-painting competition. Trinidadian Carnival, Washington, DC, USA "Carnival is a major festival on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago ... There, as is customary worldwide, Carnival is celebrated immediately prior to Easter, climaxing on Mardi Gras, the day before the Lenten fast begins. Here this Carnival tradition, transplanted from Trinidad to Montreal to Washington, DC, is celebrated on the 4th of July. This is part of a larger process in which Caribbean festivals migrate into metropolitan areas."   Source       NAIDOC Week, Australia (Jul 4 - 11) (2004; dates vary) (National Aboriginal Islander Day Observance Committee) "NAIDOC week is a way of celebrating and promoting a greater understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and our culture. "From Alice Springs to Adelaide, Canberra to Cairns or from Brisbane to Broome, communities throughout the country come together to celebrate the survival of Aboriginal peoples, the continuation of Aboriginal culture and to also demonstrate the contribution that Indigenous Australians have made to our nation."   Source How you can celebrate NAIDOC Week Here's some examples on how your school or office can celebrate: Have a flag raising ceremony Display Indigenous Posters around your class room. Learn how to play an Indigenous Traditional Game Invite local Indigenous elders to speak at your school. Listen to Indigenous music. Study a famous Indigenous Australian. Find out about the Traditional people from your area. Study Aboriginal Arts and Crafts. Read a dreamtime story. Start your own Indigenous Hall of Fame featuring any local role models and achievers. Make your own Aboriginal Art Visit Indigenous websites on the Internet Send an electronic NAIDOC e-postcard to a friend Make your own Indigenous Trivia Quiz – and test your friends Visit local Indigenous sites of significance or interest. Learn the meanings of local or national Aboriginal Place names. Source   In astronomy, July 4 is the approximate date of