You’ve probably noticed already at this World Cup that America bloody loves a bit of pageantry – and their celebrations will be in full flow at Saturday’s games.
Both Canada’s meeting with Morocco in Houston and Paraguay’s clash with France in the round of 16 will be preceded by special ceremonies inside the stadium to mark the United States Semiquincentennial.
To which you may be wondering….what’s a semiquincentennial when it’s at home?
America’s 4th July celebrations explained
You no doubt be aware that America celebrates Independence Day every 4th July, in recognition of the 1996 release of the Will Smith summer blockbuster of the same name the 1776 ratification of the Declaration of Independence.
That document is what the United States of America was founded upon as an independent country, with the founding fathers formally announcing themselves as a self-governed nation who were no longer under British rule.
That came just over a year into the eight-year American Revolutionary War, which saw Patriot forces led by George Washington fighting the British Army for the right to become their own country – successfully, in the end, of course.
Washington went on to become the first president of the United States, and the rest is history. Go and watch the first act of Hamilton if you want to learn more. It’s not the most authoritative source but it’s definitely the most entertaining.
That meant that 4th July – as Americans for some reason call it, despite generally doing dates in the format ‘July 4’ – is celebrated every year, with the day acting as something like a cross between Guy Fawkes Night and Bastille Day: a celebration of national pride, with barbecues and fireworks.
This year’s celebrations are extra special, because it marks the 250th anniversary of the original 4th July. Those with a basic grasp of Latin (who, we presume, also work at Curry’s) will have worked out the semi = half, quin = five, cent = hundred, and ennial = year – hence semiquincentennial.
It’s no accident that Philadelphia was selected as one of the venues to host a World Cup game on the day, either. It was in that very city that the Declaration of Independence was adopted on 4th July, 1776.
That makes the City of Brotherly Love the city most closely associated with the birth of the United States.
Houston holds no particular historical significance in that regard, but you can always rely on Texas to go big on…well, everything, but ceremony included.
A parade planned in Philadelphia on Friday unfortunately had to be cancelled due to to an extreme heatwave, with temperatures in the city hitting 40 degrees Celsius, as they wouldn’t put it.
That’s right, America. You might have won the war for independence, but we shall have our revenge by railing against your inexplicable persistent use of the Fahrenheit scale. And that’s the real quiz.