--- description: From fireworks to hot dog-eating contests, here's how Americans celebrated Independence Day, the Fourth of July. title: How Americans Celebrated the Fourth of July image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6560d3c956ab1aae/69869a9bcd804dbbb2ccbd06/e461640d1cbc41b4857a365f009f7200-0-21.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [fourth of july](/tag/fourth-of-july/) ## fourth of july Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Freedom and Fireworks: Americans Celebrate Their Country's Birthday by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 4, 2014 9:03 PM CUT  Paul Calienes poses for a photo before the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating contest at Coney Island, Friday, July 4, 2014, in New York. Paul Calienes poses for a photo before the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating contest at Coney Island, Friday, July 4, 2014, in New York.John Minchillo—AP by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 4, 2014 9:03 PM CUT  Fireworks display during PBS's 2014 A Capitol Fourth on the West Lawn in Washington. Paul Morigi—Getty Images  Fireworks explode over the Philadelphia Museum of Art, July 4, 2014. Matt Rourke—AP  Fireworks illuminate the water on the Charles River in Boston, July 3, 2014\. The annual Boston Pops Fourth of July concert and fireworks show was moved up a day because of potential heavy rain ahead of Hurricane Arthur. Michael Dwyer—AP  Paul Calienes poses for a photo before the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating contest at Coney Island, Friday, July 4, 2014, in New York. John Minchillo—AP  Jon Herzog, center, cheers at the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating contest at Coney Island. John Minchillo—AP  Elasha Ramirez hands out American flags before the 65th annual Jaycees Independence Day parade, July 4, 2014, in Odessa, Texas. Courtney Sacco—AP  People wave flags as the Independence Day parade rolls down Main Street, July 4, 2014, in Eagar, Ariz. Matt York—AP  Petrus Kerras, a decorated U.S. Navy veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam wars, rides on a float in a July Fourth parade in the village of Barnstable, Mass. July 4, 2014. Mike Segar—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2957424/fourth-july/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2957424/fourth-july/"},"headline":"Freedom and Fireworks: Americans Celebrate Their Country's Birthday","datePublished":"2014-07-04T21:03:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:08:09.439Z","description":"From fireworks to hot dog-eating contests, here's how Americans celebrated their country's birthday","url":"https://time.com/2957424/fourth-july/","keywords":["fourth of july"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6560d3c956ab1aae/69869a9bcd804dbbb2ccbd06/e461640d1cbc41b4857a365f009f7200-0-21.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6560d3c956ab1aae/69869a9bcd804dbbb2ccbd06/e461640d1cbc41b4857a365f009f7200-0-21.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Paul Calienes","caption":"Paul Calienes","creditText":"John Minchillo—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/fourth-of-july/","name":"fourth of july"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2957424/fourth-july/","name":"Freedom and Fireworks: Americans Celebrate Their Country's Birthday"}}]}] ```