Happy (Insert Holiday Here) To You!

Here's a list of the major holidays and/or special events around the world for July 4th - in the spirit of inclusiveness and all that.

• Birthday of Queen Sonja - Norway
• Commemoration of Jewish Genocide - Latvia
• Day of Agwe - Haiti
• Durham International Brass Festival - United KingdomFamily Day - Lesotho
• Festival Internacional de Curtas Metragens de Vila do Conde - Portugal
• Fisherman's Day - Marshall Islands
• Freedom Day - Rwanda
• H.M. the King Taufa'ahau Tupu IV Birthday and Crowning (also just called King's Day) and National Day - Tonga
• Independence Day - American Samoa
• Independence Day - Guam
• Independence Day - Puerto Rico
• Independence Day - Northern Mariana Island
• Independence Day - Rwanda
• Independence Day - USA
• Independence Day - US Virgin Islands
• Pride London - United Kingdom
• Tour de France - Monaco
• Zermatt Marathon - Switzerland

And, there's the possibility that you might want to celebrate something a little further afield - like out in left field, so to speak... But who am I to judge? Here they are:

• Alice in Wonderland Day
• Big Brothers/Big Sisters Day
• Caesar Salad Birthday
• Family Day
• Independence From Meat Day
• National Country Music Day
• Rodeo Birthday
• Tom Sawyer Fence Painting Day
• Yankee Doodle Dandy Day

Anyway, whatever floats your boat, have a great day. Put something on the barbie, pop the top on a cool one, and relax.

It's the one day, at least for Americans, if you've got some old fireworks just laying around in that junk drawer, that you can pretty well be sure you won't get busted lighting them off - unless they're really dangerous and they cause damage and/or mayhem.

Anyway, put on some Hank and Ol' Possum, oh, and maybe some Alan Jackson and Bocephus, crank it up, and have a good time. What's that you say? You don't know who some of those folks are? This is a dandy time to learn.

I know, I know... Alcohol, explosives, country music, and barbecue... Hot Damn! Kinda goes without saying, doesn't it?

Be careful and sensible, whether you're celebrating Fisherman's Day, King Taufa'ahau Tupu's birthday, or American Independence. We want you around after the forth.