Everyone at Sharkey, Howes and Javer would like to wish you and yours a happy Fourth of July. Please enjoy your barbecues, ball games and hot dogs safely, and take a moment to remember the service and sacrifice many have made to protect the freedoms we enjoy all through the year.

In observance of the holiday, our office will be closed on Friday, July 3rd. We will reopen for normal business hours on Monday, July 6th. Thank you, and have a terrific holiday.

To commemorate the day, please join us in reading some fun facts about the history of the Fourth of July:

• Three presidents died, and one was born, on the Fourth of July. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826, and James Monroe died on July 4, 1831. Calvin Coolidge, our 30th president, was born on July 4, 1872. (source)
• According to the American Pyrotechnics Association, about 14,000 firework displays take place annually to celebrate the Fourth of July (source)
• At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, approximately 2.5 million people lived in the U.S. (source)
• John Adams predicted that Americans would celebrate the holiday on July 2. After Congress approved the Declaration of Independence on July 2, Adams famously wrote his wife that Americans would remember July 2 as the “great anniversary festival.”(source)
• Americans consume an average of 155 million hot dogs on the Fourth of July each year. (source)
• The actual date the colonies declared their independence was July 2, 1776, when Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. The document was signed by many delegates two days later. It was officially approved on August 2, 1776, when signing was completed. (source)
• The colors of the American flag all have special attributes. Red signifies valor and endurance, white symbolizes purity and innocence and blue stands for vigilance and justice. (source)
• The patriotic standard “Yankee Doodle Dandy” was originally sung by British troops to mock the American soldiers who fought alongside them in the French and Indian War. (source)

We hope you enjoyed these often-overlooked facts about our storied nation. Share your favorite Fourth of July trivia or a favorite story about the holiday in the comments below.

Wishing you and your family a safe and relaxing Fourth of July weekend!