I of course am American and proud to celebrate the Forth of July, but I feel I've also picked up a countries over the years and am proud to celebrate them as well. It's interesting to me that Canada Day (July 1st) and Bastille Day (July 14th) are so close to our "national birthday." Yesterday was even Independence Day for Belarus (which is where this incredible picture comes from). 
Early July is just a good time to celebrate patriotism and have fireworks I guess. Here are some thoughts about my three countries:
Canadians celebrate their patriotism on July 1st, the anniversary of the coming together of the confederation, making Canada a self-governing country; ie, slightly more independent from Britain than before. At the time, the country only consisted of three provinces: Canada (what is now Ontario and Quebec), New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Another important date is July 1, 1982, when Canada gained even more independce from Britain. It's definitely its own country, a member of the G8, but when it's time for an election, it's the Queen's representative who does it. For a law to become final, it doesn't need signature by the Prime Minister, instead it needs "Royal Assent," a ceremony in which the Queen's representative literally nods her head from her "throne" in Parliament to approve the new legislation. I've personally attended such a ceremony and it's an ordeal loaded with tradition (and stuffiness).
July 14th - Happy Bastille Day!! 
I don't claim France as my country, but I married one of their girls and root for their soccer team, so I owe it to them to learn about their national holiday which they actually call le Fete Nationale. It's celebrated to commemorate the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris in 1789 and one of the major events triggering the French Revolution and all that followed. Two interestnig tidbits about recent Bastille Day events: in 1998 the national soccer team won the World Cup on July 12, triggering what must have been a wild party. In 2002, shots were fired at then President Jacques Chirac, but he wasn't hit. I really don't know much else. I do love that photo of the Ave Champs de Mars though, the site of my 18km triumph in Paris.
July 4th - Happy Independence Day!!
Michael Gerson (a former GW Bush speechwriter, the one that wrote the phrase "axis of evil," and current Washington Post columnist) made a great point in today's paper. "It is typical of America that our great national day is not the celebration of a battle -- or, as in the case of France, the celebration of a riot. It is the celebration of a political act, embedded in a philosophic argument: that the rights of man are universal because they are rooted in the image of God." The spirit of the 4th of July reminds me a lot of the spirit of Thanksgiving, as I survey the "Lay of the Land," I realize I have a lot to be grateful for. Happy 4th.
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