While you’re enjoying those grilled hamburgers or barbecue today, it’s important to remember why we celebrate the Fourth of July.

Independence Day is a commemoration of the formal adoption by the Continental Congress of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

The act was not one taken lightly by those who wrote and signed the document. The Declaration of Independence was written after years of grievances against the British government, including what the colonists considered oppressive restrictions on trade, manufacturing and political liberty, according to the www.history.com.

It declared that those who lived in the American colonies would be free and that they would operate as independent states.

When you study the history of our country and how our system of government came into being, it’s an amazing feat.

Since 1776, other countries have used the U.S. Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence, as models when struggling for their own freedom.

So, as you are enjoying the holiday today, take time to reflect on what we are really celebrating – freedom from oppression and our founding fathers’ ability to seek and obtain that freedom.