It's What I do: I Read, and I Know Things

Fireworks and Flags

​Fireworks were originally invented in medieval China in the 9th century to scare away evil spirits, a natural application of gunpowder, one of the Four Great Inventions of ancient China.

Fireworks and black ash were used to celebrate important events long before the American Revolutionary War. The very first celebration of Independence Day was in 1777, six years before Americans knew whether or not the new nation would survive the war; fireworks were a part of all festivities.
 
According to Betsy Ross's dates and sequence of events, in May the Congressional Committee called upon her at her shop. She finished the flag either in late May or early June 1776. In July, the Declaration of Independence was read aloud for the first time at Independence Hall. Amid celebration, bells throughout the city tolled, heralding the birth of a new nation.