Happy Fourth of July!

We hope that you and your family had a good Fourth of July weekend. Maybe you continued a long standing family holiday tradition, had a cook out, or even tried one of the vacation ideas from our blog. However you celebrated, we would like to say that we are proud to live in a country which allows us such great freedom, both to live and work, and would like to say thank you to those military and civil servants, past and present, who have worked hard to protect our freedoms and make our country one of the greatest nations in the world!

If you enjoyed the tradition of fireworks as part of your Independence Day celebration, here are some quick facts about fireworks that you might enjoy.

The earliest documented use of fireworks dates back to 12th century China, where they were used to make a loud noise to frighten away evil spirits and pray for happiness and prosperity. Pyrotechnicians would even be recognized as masters of this profession in ancient China. Fireworks were also adapted by the Chinese for warfare and are where the modern science of rockets began. The book Treatise on Fireworks was published by Amédée-François Frézier in 1706 which covers the ceremonial and religious uses for fireworks, and became a standard for fireworks makers. Fireworks were used in America to celebrate important events even before the Revolutionary War, and were used as part of the first Independence Day celebration. George Washington's inauguration as our first president was also accompanied by fireworks. Many fireworks competitions are annual events and are held worldwide.