# Happy Fourth of July - from a foreigner. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 4, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-from-a-foreigner/310994 "2005-07-04T06:19:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-from-a-foreigner/310994/1 "2005-07-04T06:19:13Z")
**Happy Independence Day !!!** Have a great day, you all. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-from-a-foreigner/310994/2 "2005-07-04T06:22:42Z")
Thanks! I celebrated early since, in the [del]Great American Tradition[/del] American Corporate Tradition, my husband will be working swing shift tomorrow. There has already been steak and beer and fireworks! Woohoo! Hope everyone has a good one tomorrow though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-from-a-foreigner/310994/3 "2005-07-04T06:27:38Z")
Hear Hear! The day is alnmost over in this part of the world, but I spent it drinking. I mean um… drinking IN YOUR HONOUR! Um… yes. 😃 Happy birthday America. You’re not such a bad bunch of arseholes, when it’s all said and done. Enjoy yourselves. Go and buy some aspirin if you’re out. Do that now. 😃 Cheers 'merkins (and Canucks for yesterday. I missed you guys)… ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-from-a-foreigner/310994/4 "2005-07-04T06:59:36Z")
Happy Fourth of July from Way The Heck Up North! The American community here in Greater Oslo had its celebration yesterday, the Sunday before the Fourth, as always. You wouldn’t expect it, but it may be the largest US Independence Day celebration outside of North America. (The other likely candidate, perhaps also unexpectedly, takes place in Denmark.) The event is a major fundraiser for several of the American expat organizations and an opportunity for all of them to be seen and possibly recruit new members. I worked at the American Women’s Club’s cookie booth, selling homemade chocolate chip cookies, Rice Krispie treats, funnel cakes, brownies, fudge, peanut brittle (that doesn’t sell too well, in July…), and, uh, whatever other goodies people brought, plus donuts that were generously donated by a local bakery, lemonade, and cans of A&W Root Beer. We do this every year to raise money for a scholarship for a Norwegian citizen who wants to further her or his education in the US in a field related to medicine or the care of handicapped children. How many groups do you know that raise money for a scholarship one cookie at a time? 😃 The weather was perfect, sunny and warm so people were out in force, but not so hot that they weren’t hungry for sweets. We hold the event in Oslo’s largest public park, so our market includes both people who came specifically for the celebration (usually after reading about it in the local papers) and people who come to the park for other reasons and then discover us there. The place was jumpin’. I haven’t heard yet how much money we raised, but when I left we were well on track for the best year in quite some time. I needed a shower when I got home, though. Stay where funnel cakes are being made for too long and your hair starts to smell like a fry vat 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Atheist\_Princess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@Atheist\_Princess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atheist_Princess)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-from-a-foreigner/310994/5 "2005-07-04T07:19:40Z")
I ditto the Happy Birthday America shouts…and a special Happy 4th of July to **Spatial Rift 47** for all the special reasons 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-from-a-foreigner/310994/6 "2005-07-04T07:21:57Z")
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! 229 years and still rockin! USA! USA! USA! ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-from-a-foreigner/310994/7 "2005-07-04T08:45:03Z")
I’m an American, but after 15 years in Japan, I’ll join in the foreign crowd. I’ll go out with some Americans for beer tonight, but I’ll stick to Sapporo beer. Have a good one all! ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-from-a-foreigner/310994/8 "2005-07-04T10:12:20Z")
Hope all you Americans are celebrating in style. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-from-a-foreigner/310994/9 "2005-07-04T12:24:04Z")
Thanks, everybody!!! We Americans love to celebrate the 4th with a bang! I want to go out and get some firecrackers, but they’re illegal - too dangerous - hafta buy guns instead. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-from-a-foreigner/310994/10 "2005-07-04T14:39:47Z")
Going out to Brooklyn to watch the Macy’s fireworks, after taking my Mom to see the hospital where she was born in Carroll Gardens! Should be fun! Crowded, but fun! \ ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-from-a-foreigner/310994/11 "2005-07-04T15:55:11Z")
We’re going to have the traditional giant barbecue, and then blow up the traditional (illegal) fireworks tonight 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-from-a-foreigner/310994/12 "2005-07-04T15:59:26Z")
Thanks, all! It’s nice to know we haven’t so thouroughly pissed off everyone in the world that you won’t say “Happy Birthday”. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-from-a-foreigner/310994/13 "2005-07-04T17:42:17Z")
> [@Genghis Bob](#): > > Thanks, all! It’s nice to know we haven’t so thouroughly pissed off everyone in the world that you won’t say “Happy Birthday”. As one sweet little old Norwegian lady said to me at the Independence Day shindig last year: “Heavens, no! Your president is an idiot. That doesn’t mean I don’t like you.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-from-a-foreigner/310994/14 "2005-07-04T18:00:34Z")
Happy birthday, America! ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-from-a-foreigner/310994/15 "2005-07-04T19:00:25Z")
Happy Merkin Day! _waves a little flag from up north_