Happy early birthday, America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United States is coming up on its 247th birthday bash that is celebrated across the country with picnics, parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues. Everything is sashed in red, white and blue, and most public offices, including the federal government\u2019s, are closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, federal employees do have Tuesday, July 4, off of work to celebrate the passage of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 by the Continental Congress, the prototypical governing body of British intellects, farmers and statesmen representing the original 13 colonies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, the young country was embroiled in a war at the time of the declaration\u2019s first public reading, so it wasn\u2019t until 1781 that Massachusetts became the first state to recognize July 4 as an official holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House\u2019s first Independence Day party happened two decades later and it wasn\u2019t until 1870 that it became a federally recognized holiday for the sake of giving public employees\u2019 the day off. In 1938, federal employees were paid for that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year, the Fourth of July falls on a Tuesday, leaving some civil servants wondering if the White House or their agency will gift them extra holiday time on Monday to create a long weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\t