US Independence Day

Americans celebrated a major bank holidays, US Independence Day, on Sunday. In New York, in light of the success of the coronavirus vaccination, a long-standing tradition was revived with a large public fireworks display.

Pyrotechnic charges were set off from five barges in the East River Strait for about 25 minutes. According to organizers, there were more than 65,000 of them. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers and visitors gathered at several sites along the East River.

City officials had earlier said that spectators would be divided into those who had been vaccinated and those who had not been vaccinated. Separate seats were supposed to be reserved for them.

Most spectators came without protective masks. In New York, those who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus are already allowed not to wear them on the street.

There was no single motif in the fireworks display, but a combination of red, white and blue, the colours of the US national flag, was repeated time after time.

The annual US Independence Day fireworks in New York City are organized by the large department store chain Macy's. They have been held since 1977, with the exception of only 1986, when the city hosted events to mark the completion of the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. Last year, that tradition was partially abandoned because of the pandemic. Instead of having a fireworks display on the festive evening, the event was stretched over several days and became a smaller scale than usual.

About the history of the holiday

This year, US residents are celebrating the country's major bank holidays for the 245th time. It is timed to the adoption in 1776 of the Declaration of Independence which proclaimed the freedom of the United States from the rule of the British Empire. Many Americans wear blue, white and red on this day, and homes and streets are festooned with the nation's flags.

The Declaration was adopted by Congress on July 2, 1776 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Two days later, Congress approved an amended version of the document and ordered it printed and distributed to the public, which is why the birthday of the United States is considered to be the 4th of July.