Americans celebrate Independence Day

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The United States will pause for a highlight of the summer on Thursday: the independence day holiday marking the 237th birthday of one of the world's longest-standing democracies. Americans celebrate with parades, barbecues, concerts, festivals - and fireworks. Pyrotechnic displays on independence day go back to the country's birth.

It was the second president, John Adams, who first called for “illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more” in a letter he wrote to his wife the day after the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia in 1776. This year, New York paid tribute to the Declaration of Independence by putting it on display for three days in the New York Public Library - a rare exhibition honouring independence day. The document, handwritten by the nation's third president, Thomas Jefferson, was displayed from Monday to Wednesday along with an original copy of the Bill of Rights - the first 10 amendments to the constitution, written in 1789. It was the first time that the historic documents, which are rarely on display for preservation reasons, were shown together. “As a prime source of free information and education, libraries are the true foundation of our democracy of informed citizens,” said Tony Marx, president of the library.

“We celebrate that tradition with a display of both the Declaration of Independence in Thomas Jefferson's hand, and one of the remaining original copies of the Bill of Rights.” In New York's harbour, the Statue of Liberty was set to welcome back visitors beginning on Thursday. The statue had been closed since 2011 and reopened last year on its 126th birthday, but that was one day before Hurricane Sandy made landfall in the city, flooding most of the five hectares the statue stands on. The statue and Ellis Island were shut down again for repairs. The statue itself suffered no damage from Sandy, but several structures on the two islands, including landing docks, were ruined. The National Park Service decided last month to reopen the statue to visitors after repairs were completed and ferry services from Lower Manhattan and New Jersey to Liberty and Ellis Islands were restored. In Washington, the holiday will be marked with a huge fireworks display preceded by a concert on the National Mall featuring singer Barry Manilow. Other events, including parades and festivals, will celebrate the country's birth in nearly every community throughout the 50 states.