4th of July : Fireworks

 

Fireworks ! 

My  card features this cute guy celebrating the 4th of July with Fireworks. Colored in Red, White and Blue pencils and mated on Red and background on Firework printed scrapbook paper. 

Fireworks History and Traditions: 

Many historians believe that fireworks originally were developed in the second century B.C. in ancient Liuyang, China. It is believed that the first natural “firecrackers” were bamboo stalks that when thrown in a fire, would explode with a bang because of the overheating of the hollow air pockets in the bamboo.

Around 200 BC, the Chinese unintentionally invented firecrackers by tossing bamboo into fire, but it took another thousand years before true fireworks came alive. As the story goes, around 800 AD, an alchemist mixed sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate (a food preservative) hoping to find the secret to eternal life.

When did fireworks start as a tradition?

England’s King Henry VII, whose royal standard bore the Red Dragon, included fireworks at his wedding in 1486, the first known use of fireworks at a national celebration, and his wife’s coronation in 1487 featured a fire-breathing dragon, which became popular in royal fireworks displays during the reign of the Tudors.

Coming soon: Christmas in July starts July 5th.