What are these children celebrating?
And these people?
It's the Fourth of the July in the USA.
The Fourth of July
is also known as Independence Day.
It's a holiday in the United States
where people celebrate the day
the U.S. became an independent country.
In 1938,
the US government made it a National Holiday.
People don't have to go to work,
and they march in parades,
have picnics,
enjoy spending time with family and friends,
and set off fireworks.
In fact, the first week of July
is the busiest travel week of the year
in the United States.
It's a day to honour and remember
the history of the United States.
Let's go back to the beginning.
Why did they want to be independent?
The people in the US were unhappy
being ruled by the British government.
They wanted to make their own rules.
So they decided to no longer be part
of the British Empire
and to form a new country -
The United States of America.
The Declaration of Independence
was written in July 1776.
At that time, there were only 2.5 million
people living in the United States.
Today there are 325 million.
And they love to celebrate
the US's birthday every year!