Which to celebrate. substance or pomp and circumstance? In 1776, John Adams felt that Americans should celebrate the resolution of the Second Continental Congress:
“That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”
But, that is not what we celebrate. How do I know? The above resolution happened on July 2nd.
Why do we celebrate on July 4th? Because that is the day that the Declaration of Independence was signed, an event Adams called “dress and ornament rather than Body, Soul, or Substance.”
So, which is more important? The day the Second Continental Congress voted on independence or the day they celebrated their work? I say the latter matters more.
I have a couple of friends whose marriage was officially performed a few weeks before they celebrated their wedding. Which do they celebrate as their anniversary? The day the marriage actually took place or the day they celebrated? I would venture that they celebrate the day on their wedding certificate. As nice as their wedding was (and it was very, very nice) it was merely a celebration of an act that had been previously performed.
But, there is another way to think about it. What if we celebrate on July 4th because we are following a tradition of celebrating our independence on that day? A tradition that we follow because that was the day the Second Continental Congress chose to celebrate the historic event of 2 days prior? It would be like my friends throwing an annual anniversary party on the date of their wedding party. They would be celebrating the anniversary of the celebration of their wedding rather than the date of their actual marriage.
This question also makes me think of my gay and lesbian friends who recently gained federal recognition of their marriages in states where same-sex marriage is legal (oh, for the day when I no longer need to qualify that statement). I know several couples who have had more than one celebration of their union. There was the “not legally binding, but binding in the eyes of us and our community” event. For my Oregonian and some of my Californian friends, there are the dates of the marriages that were briefly legal until they were later overturned. And lastly, there are the marriages that, at the time, was only considered legal in their state.
It is not for me to say which of the dates my friends should celebrate as their anniversary. I can even think of reasons for them to celebrate more than one anniversary a year. But, I think it remains an interesting question.