July Fourth. Independence Day. The Fourth of July. America’s Birthday. My favorite holiday! But why?

1. It Happens In The Summer (my favorite season)
Hot weather, flip-flops, tank tops and sunscreen.
The blustery coldness that bites through bulky layers of sweaters and coats is a distant memory and the colorful foliage of autumn has yet to remind me that gloves and scarves are just around the corner.

2. No-Recipe, Simple-Ingredient Food
Grilled burgers, hot dogs, water melon, ice cream, sweet corn.
I don’t have to follow a complicated recipe only to find half-way through I don’t have one of the ingredients or worse calls for an ingredient I’ve never heard of. I love the simplicity and taste of no-fuss picnic food. No menu planning or hours of cooking prep required.

3. No Gifts, No Cards, No Decorating
I don’t have to buy anything on July 4th. The holiday doesn’t involve Santa or the Easter Bunny or any holiday hero for that matter. I don’t have to figure out what gifts to buy or spend hours wrapping said gifts. I have no pine needles to vacuum or holiday letters to write or carols to sing. I don’t need to buy costumes or candy. It is one of the cheapest, relaxing holidays of all.

4. Fireworks, Baby!
The holiday culminates in an amazing display of colors, sounds and vibrations. I love fireworks. Watching the girls practice cart wheels, dance and twirl their glow sticks as they wait for dusk to fall and the fireworks to start. The look of pure joy on their faces when the first one shoots into the sky and explodes to a chorus of Oooo’s and Ahhhh’s from the crowd. When my step-son was about four years old, he grabbed my father’s cheeks and turned his face toward his. “Look, Grandpa! It’s a masterpiece!’ Yes indeed, they are!

What about you? What’s your favorite holiday?