Substitute DE: And the rockets' red glare

[bjornwilde]

So here in the States it is Independence Day and I am curious, what makes the day for you? Fireworks, picnics, a trip to the beach? For those of us not in the US, does your country have a national pride day? If so, what are some of the traditions, personal or cultural, that happen then?

What about your pups?

Comments

[bjornwilde]

For me, the Fourth used to be all about the fireworks but now it's more about community and food. See we go to the San Jose history park, which has recreated a downtown San Jose from the turn of the century, and join other members of the park for a picnic and BBQ. There are several BBQ pits, lots of frisbees and games, ice cream and just this a strong sense of small town celebration.

For Ben, it's everything. Family, BBQ, fireworks, and the national anthem.

I think for Hank, given his time frame, his traditions are likely very close to my own. He's likely feeling like a fish out of water given the top secret life he is now living, i.e. I don't know that he'd be allowed to go home for the Fourth.

Jess doesn't really have an emotional connection with the holiday but loves to spend it with Carol since (I am assuming) it is a big day for her.

Thalia couldn't care less but loves the fireworks show and feels cheated if she misses it.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Fireworks. My old apartment was near the rodeo grounds, and they have a fireworks display every 4th that I could watch from my back patio. Where I'm living now has The Stadium of Fire--the whole city turns out to watch the fireworks from whatever hill or lawn they can find a spot to sit. We can watch from the back yard.

My mom also likes to watch The Music Man. It's not particularly 4th-of-July themed, but the 1910s were a very patriotic time--lots of bunting--and the movie reflects that.

For Steve, of course, it's movie canon that it's his birthday. Lydia, I can see picnicking at the beach for the holiday. As for the others...well, I can't really see Uther authorizing a Camelot Day, for instance.

[ceitfianna]

For me the Fourth has always been about family and the community I'm in. The past few years, I've been visiting a friend who lives in another part of Michigan who has a family BBQ. I'm not going this year as after all my travel for ALA, I'm a little too tired. I might venture out to see what's happening in the area but for now I'm mainly lazy.

Will doesn't have anything like an Independence Day in his era but he knows about the US one and joins his friend's celebrations.

Charles, I think grew up with going to the celebrations in Westchester and I could see his family doing a small party at the mansion. I think its a holiday he likes and enjoys seeing what's going on wit the community during it.

William, the Fourth is complicated and very meaningful after the Civil War when it took on a lot more meaning for everyone. Since the US is still pretty young in his time, the Fourth gets big celebrations. In my mind, Bisbee has a fair and parade that his family participates in and they decorate Dan's grave since he fought. I gave him an EP yesterday thinking about it and I'm thinking I might redo that one or give him one today as I'm going to be around.

Jane isn't American and the US War for Independence is still fairly fresh in her mind so she does her best to ignore it.

Moist is from Uberwald which doesn't have any sort of independence day tradition. Ankh-Morpork does, the Glorious Twenty-Fifth of May that I can see him participating in celebrations for when he lives there, but for now he doesn't do anything.

For Sameth, I don't think the Old Kingdom has any kind of tradition, possibly a celebration of when Sabriel and Touchstone came to the throne.

Demeter will enjoy any independence celebration she comes across, she enjoys them and seeing people connect to their land in the way those celebrations create.

Tumnus, I think is part of celebrations for when the Pevensies came to the throne, I can't think of something else that would happen.

The Pirate King would celebrate when Victoria came to the throne with his crew.

I seem to have a lot of pups who live in monarchies, huh.

[crossbowkillshot]

For me, it's family but that often makes just about every holiday that we celebrate what it is and family to me is one of the most important things.

For my pups?

Daryl - Well Daryl hasn't really led all that happy of a life. I posted an EP for him where he's simultaneously mourning his brother and setting off a crapton of fireworks to try and distract himself since they're so hard to find in his world these days. I think for him at the point in canon he's at, it's his fellow survivors. They're all he has now outside of Bar.

Shining Armor - His sister and wife.

Cato - I've never really thought about Cato too much. He's just so driven to do what he does. This is probably going to be the first time he truly celebrates anything without feeling the immense pressure of Panem and being a tribute.

[sdelmonte]

We tend not to do much for the day. I would not want to deal with the mad crush of people at the big fireworks show (or having to get home from there). And we are only rarely invited to any sort of BBQ. But I always read the Declaration of Independence and ponder the meaning of the day. (The right to pursue happiness has new and welcome meaning this year.)

In recent years, this has become movie day, with Pixar films usually getting the nod. But as we still have not seen Monsters Inc, we are skipping Monsters U. And the other choices are even less appealing.

Knox usually manages to find a barbecue somewhere, and goes to whatever illegal fireworks show the reigning mob boss in the suburbs throws. At least until Batman shows up to ruin the fun.

Kirk is from an era when America's day of freedom has lost some of its importance, but it's still part of his cultural DNA. Even if he finds the preamble to the Constitution more stirring than the Declaration of Independence. (He's got his issues with Jefferson.)

Howard Stark really feels the importance of the day in a time when patriotism is king. He will find his way to a fireworks show, even if he pondering how to make it better.

Cy and the other Titans go to a big picnic for underprivileged kids. And then they watch the show over the bay from the best seats in the house.

Gibbs is English, and AFAIK his era didn't really have any sort of secular national holidays.

[cameoflage]

Canada Day is on July 1st! I generally indulge in whatever public festivities I'm aware of and can get myself to. Fireworks and free food are my favourite parts. My parents don't really throw family parties on the day or anything now that my sister and I are adults, and I don't enjoy picnicking or going to the beach by myself. (I don't really have local, offline friends.) However, this year I spent it sleeping until 6 pm, which I blame on the anime convention I went to on the weekend immediately prior, and forgot about the fireworks show downtown until it was too late to get there.

If there are any patriotic national holidays in Thurlow's era I'm not familiar with them, and they would probably be pretty cynical about the holiday if there were, being at best sort of ambivalent about the British Empire.

I knew there had to be some day when trolls celebrate the glory of the Alternian Empire triumphing over its enemies, and Karkat-mun's calendar did not disappoint me. Aradia got pretty into it (before the world was destroyed... and also before she died). She likes holidays.

[genarti]

I don't really have any traditions that are set in stone! I usually try to wear something red and/or something blue, and I like to do something, even if it's just hanging out with friends. I guess having a dessert involving strawberries and/or blueberries and whipped cream is as close to a tradition as I get, but that's mostly because they're reasonably seasonal (well, strawberries are) and I like excuses to eat them. I like to go see whatever fireworks are happening, unless it involves too big a crowd, but those don't always happen right on the 4th around here.

Trowa doesn't really consider himself tied to any particular country, but his world has a united world government anyway. (Although that's somewhat recent, and countries do persist as cultural entities.) The space colony L3 is as close as it comes -- he didn't grow up there, but he does have some significant ties to it -- but he's nomadic anyway. And any kind of colony independence/pride celebrations are ones that a Gundam pilot is going to have an interesting perspective on. (Also, ones that the muns would need to make up.)

So basically I dunno! But I figure any celebration that's going on in somewhere the circus is near will probably involve Trowa's sister Cathy doing something to celebrate the day, probably including an excuse to bake something, and Trowa tolerantly allowing her to drag him along.

River's world has Unification Day, aka the day Mal and Zoe go find an Alliance-friendly bar to start a bar fight in. (And also, per Millicanon, the day the calendar year changes.) I'm not sure if they still have that habit, this many eventful years after the war, but it's still not one that's really celebrated on Serenity. There's probably a lot of careful talking around what they're not celebrating, really.

Regan, on the other hand, is a Senator's wife and has lived all her life in the Core, and is much less politically conflicted about this. I'm sure in past years they... I don't know, went to see the parade or fireworks or whatever the customary thing is that involves more joining in a community event than going to personal cooking/decorating effort. Nowadays, she and Gabriel are both booked solid, I'm sure, because that's what happens when you're a high-ranking politician on a politically weighted patriotic holiday. Especially if your platform includes trying to reach out to the Rim while staying within the system and not getting perceived as an out-of-touch radical by Core folks insofar as you can avoid it.

Thor... I honestly have no idea what kind of political celebrations Asgard has. If they have any kind of national (planetary??) pride celebration, Thor is THERE, man. Both as an expected role for the crown prince, and by personal choice and patriotism.

Enjolras's entire life and death is a national pride celebration. EVERY DAY IS BASTILLE DAY IN HIS HEART. In terms of actual celebrations... honestly, I'm not sure what the status of official celebrations like that was in the early 1830s. Whatever there was was undoubtedly royalist, though, and thus something Enjolras was firmly opposed to on principle. Unofficial popular celebrations of more revolutionary anniversaries, on the other hand, would have been firmly and violently cracked down upon, which doesn't mean Enjolras wasn't right there joining in. What I'm not sure of is exactly how this really played out, historically. In any case, I think it's safe to say that France in the 1830s was way too tumultuous and politically precarious for there to be any kind of national pride celebration that wasn't heavily, pointedly affiliated with one political group or another.

[boomsticking]

Watching 1776 on the tube, chicken salad sandwiches, and fireworks!

All of my pups tend to get drunk on the 4th, except for Pinkie, for the Equestria equivalent of the fourth means PICNIC TIME