kellycrull.com - expat life in Spain

Some friends of ours, Samuel and Robyn, are house-sitting this summer out in the suburbs. They have a house that makes any of our apartments in the city look like a sandbox. And they have a pool. The perfect recipe for a 4th of July party.

Samuel and Robyn agreed to get the house ready and to buy some lighter fluid for the grill in the back yard, and April and I said we’d cover all the snacks and the side dishes.

We have friends from other countries, so I told April I wanted to make the food authentically American. We’d only bring foods that we would actually eat at a 4th of July party back in the States. That meant no olives. No gazpacho. No tapas. What it did mean was a grill. Hamburgers. Hot dogs. Potato Salad. Potato Chips. Chips and Salsa. Watermelon. Iced Tea.

Twenty-five of our friends showed up. We swam and ate until we were round as watermelons ourselves. The party was a success. At least I thought so.

Six of us were on the bus on the way back to Madrid, and I decided to ask two of Shmuel and Robyn’s friends who are Spanish if they enjoyed the day.

Miriam shrugged. Noe said, “It wasn’t as good as Thanksgiving.” They had both come to our Thanksgiving party the year before in this same house. They both said Thanksgiving was more unique.

“What about the potato salad?” I said.

Noe smiled. “It’s just potatoes and sauce.”

She had me there.

I was hoping the 4th of July would be something unique for our friends from other countries, but really, what does the 4th of July have that you can’t find anywhere else on the planet?

To me the 4th of July is about summer time. It’s about fireworks (which we weren’t able to find in Madrid because they’re out of season). It’s about a barbecue in the back yard. It’s about being together with family and friends. None of these are uniquely American.

The only thing I can think of that could possible set the 4th of July apart from other countries is the fact that it’s an independence day. Even then, other countries have independence days. But other countries don’t have our independence day. This is true.

But I have to stop myself here. If I’m honest, I’m not sure the 4th of July has much to do with celebrating independence anymore. Unless, of course, we’re celebrating our independence from work for a day. Which, once again, anyone on the planet would be happy to celebrate.

So the 4th of July is not unique. It’s the most generic of celebrations. There’s nothing we got that they don’t got.

And I suppose I’m okay with that. Because it means that at least one day a year in the States there’s a holiday that anyone can appreciate. In fact, maybe that’s the most American holiday of all. Maybe a generic holiday, with nothing unique to offer, is a statement about independence. It’s a way of saying, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, come on over. Jump in the pool. Throw some food on the grill. Let’s celebrate.