Pondering the Fourth in the (red, white and) Blue Mountains

What is the Fourth of July?

Originally this post was gonna be mostly about my upcoming trip this weekend, with a little side note about how the Fourth coincides with it. Then I started to think about the Fourth, really think about what it means. At first I didn't have much of a sense for that, or how I felt about the day. But after maybe six or seven iterations of this post, I think I'm somewhere. Have a read and then let me know in the comments: do you agree?

So. What is the Fourth of July?

We all know why the day holds such historical significance, and that's certainly a large part in what makes it so special; however, I'd argue that what really makes the Fourth so special, what really makes it stand apart from other holidays, is its cultural significance. It's a day when the nation collectively comes together, puts all our worries behind us and celebrates.

The Fourth of July's of my youth were 5km runs in the morning, a barbecue and parade in the day and fireworks at night. For each of these events, large groups of people converged to celebrate and be part of the spectacle.

The Fourth of July's of my early adulthood were more of the same, minus those pesky 5km morning runs. And again, for each of those events, large groups of people converged to celebrate and be part of the spectacle.

Then I came to Australia. And that has provided me with some perspective that I'd otherwise never have had.

For the Fourth last year, by random coincidence, I ended up at a house party thrown by an American. But we were the only two Americans there; for everyone else, it was just another house party. So not surprisingly, it felt nothing like a Fourth in the US.

For the Fourth this year, the happenstance continues, as it turns out that a group of my friends and I -- nine total -- will be spending a long weekend in the Blue Mountains, a national park a couple hours west of Sydney. We'll be renting this cabin and filling our days with, ummmmmm... well, I'm not sure what we'll be doing. I'm guessing it'll involve taking it rather easy, eating a lot, going for some hikes and maybe even indulging in a few adult beverages.

Clearly, plans for the weekend aren't too rigid; we'll just figure things out as we go. The exception to this laissez-faire approach, however, has to do with commemorating the Fourth. Because some time in the last few weeks, everyone got it into their heads that since there'd be an American on this weekend, we had to do something for the Fourth, some sort of traditional thing, for lack of a better term. And they all looked to me (understandably enough, I guess) for inspiration.

I had no immediate inspiration. So I started to think about it. And the more and more thinking I did, the more and more I came to the above conclusions, at least subconsciously: the Fourth of July is the summation of many parts, which, when all mashed together, creates a day ensconced in festivity. There isn't any one thing that makes the Fourth the Fourth, nor can you magically conjure up the feeling of the Fourth. Instead, it's the barbecues, the fireworks, the parades, the friends, the family, the laughing, the green grass, the blue sky, the pomp, the circumstance. You need all of that, every last bit, or it just doesn't work.

Of course there's no way I'm bottling all of that up and bringing it to the Blue Mountains this weekend. Although maybe I could still get away with doing just one or two things? But even some of the more tangible stuff, like a barbecue or fireworks, would be tough to pull off because of practicalities like the forecasted weather (a high of 46 Fahrenheit does not make for a fun barbecue) and our environment (Smokey the Bear has taught me that it generally isn't a good idea to play with fireworks in a forested area).

SO WHAT TO DO??!? Maybe just something that's stereotypically American, like making an apple pie, or buying some Budweiser, or singing the Star Spangled Banner? I don't know, none of that really feels right. I'd still be missing the pomp! Not to mention the circumstance! But seeing as no one else will know (or demand) any better, I guess any or all of those options would fly.

I have another 13 hours to figure it out. Maybe I'll come up with something good. Maybe I'll take an easy way out and cook up some hot dogs in the kitchen. Or maybe I'll do nothing at all. We'll see. Regardless, I'm absolutely looking forward to doing a few of the things that many of you in the US will also be doing this weekend: getting away from it all, taking it easy and spending time with friends. It's not a true Fourth, but it'll do.

Have a happy Fourth, everyone.