All-American Holiday?

So, having spent the evening by the Charles for what used to be "Pops Goes the Fourth," a thought occurs to me.

I've been watching fireworks---a Chinese invention. The two musical works best associated with the holiday, our national anthem and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, were created abroad, and in the latter case, has no actual connection with American history! [Having the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on hand to sing a "singing translation" (read: a dreck of an English rendition) of a Russian hymn in praise of the czar was silly beyond words.] The music to the Star-Spangled Banner has its origins in the "Anacreontic Society," a London aristocratic club.

So, the question is this: is there anything about our Fourth of July celebration entirely indigenous to the United States? I'm curious to know.

P.S. Thumbs down to CBS for making sure that LeAnn Rimes appeared twice in half an hour, but the much better Indra Thomas---who local audiences got to see and hear in a variety of styles---didn't make it on air.

Tom writes:

I think because your event was made for broadcast, they couldn't really do a lot of "American" pieces. After all, the cannons are a big draw. As for strictly indigenous celebrations for the 4th of July, that depends on what celebration you're talking about.

Actually, it turns out that the cannons were only referred to in passing. They only excerpted a little bit of the 1812 at the start of the CBS hour---the whole thing (or at least the whole of their abridgment) was only heard locally. At least when the telecast was on A&E, they broadcast the whole 1812. Surprisingly, CBS had the gall to say the 1812 was the highlight of the Fourth of July concert, but only thought they could play 45-60 seconds of it.