Happy Fourth of July everyone! The states are some of our favourite places to go, with so much variety and so much to do, there’s always somewhere left to discover. What’s your favourite state you’ve been to?

The Declaration of Independence

For the non-Americans amongst us, what is the celebration about? The 4th July marks the date of adoption of the Declaration of Independence on the 4th July 1776. This declared the United States of America independence from Great Britain. If you’ve seen Hamilton (if not, it’s amazing, go watch it on Disney + now!) then this is what it’s all about.

The legal separation from Great Britain actually happened two days before on the 2nd July. After voting for independence, Congress then had to create the Declaration of Independence. That states how the separation works and that they’re no longer a part of the British Empire. They were now thirteen newly independent sovereign states.

John Adams

A day earlier, John Adams (a founding father and second President of the United States) had written to his wife Abigail.

“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

Whilst his premonition was two days out, Americans do celebrate independence with pomp and ceremony. With parades through towns, firework displays, huge family gatherings and parties, and huge get togethers within communities.

We wanted to show you some of our favourite photos of our William Morris bags on our adventures around the US:

Our Strawberry Thief red bag on the beach in Coronado, San Diego.

A light refreshment with our Strawberry Thief blue bag – carrying our suncream and some sweet treats!

Our Strawberry Thief blue small tote looking beautiful next to the ocean.

Our Trellis small tote bag, we filled it with delicious Californian avocados from our road trip. We pulled up to check out the freshly grown Avocados on the side of a road fresh from the farm beyond, how fresh can you get!

We hope all our American customers have a wonderful day today!