Phillippe Diederich celebrated his first Fourth of July in California in 1976. He was 12 years old and had little connection to or knowledge about the holiday, other than it was a time to celebrate American independence.
Diederich was living in Mexico at the time, and wrote on Mamiverse.com that, despite the festivities, something felt missing. “I think that what gets lost in the hoopla is that our forefathers fought for freedom from England,” he wrote.
Now that he lives in the U.S., he has incorporated his own traditions into the American holiday, like grilling up churrasco instead of burgers and having his kids light off pyrotechics in his back yard.
“. . .In the end, despite ethnicities or race, the Fourth of July is for all of us,” he wrote.
Read his full story here.
(Photo by JFXie)
