July 4, 2015

Celebratory 4th of July edition of Flickr Favourites




{Cover by Karen Radkai ~ Dovima2010}







{American flag ~ File Photo Digital Archive}



{June Haver for Lustre-Creme Shampoo, May 1953 ~ The Bee's Knees Daily}




{The Holiday Cookbook ~ Kim B}




{4th of July Red Velvet Cake Truffles ~ IrishMomLuvs2Bake}




{ca. 1941 ~ Le Beau Monde}




{Fireworks Red White & Blue ~ Alene Davis}



{1944 Curtiss Baby Ruth Candy Bar Ad ~ Classic Film}




{4th of July ~ Mandie Newsom}




{1942 DIY "Hankie Doodles" Fashion ~ Classic Film}



{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on its title to be taken to its respective Flickr page.} 




There has always been something strikingly cool to me about the fact that my birthday falls in the same month as that of not only my own country (on the 1st), but of our closest, and technically only, neighbouring nation, America, too.

I'm not American (though I do have some US ancestry by way of relatives who immigrated there from Germany, with one later moving to Canada), but it's impossible to grow up in Canada, especially in recent decades since the invention of things such as radio, TV, and the web, and not be inundated with culture, history, politics, food, companies, and may other elements that hail from south of the 49th.

Though, as I touched on in my fun post The real truth behind 15 Canadian stereotypes last year, I fully realize that this sharing of cultural identity, history and other faucets of society is not always a two-way street and Canadians are, in general, more apt to know about America and its history than the other way around.

Between school, pop culture, the news, my own passion for learning, and other sources, I know quite a lot about America, its people, and its past and can’t help but feel a certain connection with it. Thus I love to celebrate in spirit with my friends from the other side of the vast border that divides our two great nations when their country's birthday rolls around

I've long admired the degree of patriotism that Americans have for their country and though we're often more subdued about our own here in Canada, they're both equally passionate. The States really knows how throw a serious national birthday bash though and I adore that about them. They have a proud, storied history and are keen to celebrate that fact. As a person whose life is so often centered around the past, this is a mindset I can not only get behind, but which I live day in and day out myself.

To help my awesome friends toast the day that commemorate the birth of their mighty nation, today's edition of Flickr Favourites features an enjoyable selection of red, white, and blue images, many of which pertain to this holiday itself and each of which sings with its festive spirit all the same.

While I'm firmly planted on Canadian soil today, I have always wanted to venture forth to celebrate with you on American turf and who knows, maybe next year or another in the relatively near future will present the chance for me to do just that.

Happy Independence Day, my lovely US friends - may it be a fabulous, sun-kissed, joyful one for each of you!

32 comments:

  1. Happy belated Canada Day, Jessica! We don't have anything like this or Independence Day here - which is a shame as it's totally a missed opportunity for some red, white and blue wearing of our own ;) x

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    1. Agreed big time! There are too few holidays in many countries - Canada super included - if you ask me. I'm sorry that you don't have an equivalent to those two celebrations in the UK. There wasn't one in Ireland (when I lived there) either. Perhaps some of the many vintage loving folks in the UK should petition parliament to start a new holiday in celebration of your great nation! :)

      Have a fantastic weekend, my dear!
      ♥ Jessica

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  2. What pretty images. From your knowledge of your southern neighbor, I see you're bi-national! (I just made that word up.)

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    1. Great homemade word, Ally - and you know, I would classify myself as such. :) I've always taken to studying and absorbing the culture of our nearest - and only, technically - neighboring nation and often feel like a citizen of North America as a whole, not just of Canada.

      I hope that you're having a stellar 4th of July, my friend!!!

      ♥ Jessica

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  3. That is such a sweet post, as usual, so nice! I loved the dog, the flag, the cupcakes! I know what you mean, it seems most of the planet knows more about the USA than any other country, apart from where they live (other countries, I mean!) But surely they know a bit portion of the Canadian history, and it not, their loss :) I also hope everybody had a great 4th of July!!!!
    DenisesPlanet.com

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    1. Hello sweet Denise, thank you very much for your lovely comment. It's amazing and mind-blowing to me, as we learn about and are inundated with so much US history and culture here in Canada, but no, most Americans that I've encountered readily admit that such is not a two way street and it's a real shame, as we're cousin countries. Hopefully my posts can help some of my US readers get to know Canada a bit better - I'd really love for that to be the case.

      Wishing you a marvelous weekend!
      ♥ Jessica

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  4. Hello and happy Indepemdence Day, dear Jessica. I hereby declare you an honorary American today. Wish you could see me celebrating in my 40s vintage halter top and red Roman Holiday skirt, as well as my red, white and blue Bakelite bangles!

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    1. That's very sweet of you to say, Piper, thank you so much! I'm honoured and will hereby declare you an honorary Canadian each July 1st now, too. :)

      Your outfit sounds breathtaking and I certainly wish I could have seen it. Did any grab a snap of you in it? You can always email me one, if they did and if you'd like to share it with me.

      I hope that your whole weekend is fabulously festive and fun!!!

      ♥ Jessica

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  5. Denise @BuyRVintageJunkJuly 4, 2015 at 6:35 PM

    Fireworks are lighting the sky right now at the end of a beautiful sunny day.
    Love your choice of pictures. :)
    I'm going to study more about Canada-it's really not that far from Indiana!

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    1. Joyful 4th of July wishes, Denise!!! Aww, I'm tickled pink (errr, red and white :D) to know that you're keen to learn more about your neighbours to the north. Thank you! I've peppered lots of Canadian facts and history throughout this blog from the get-go, sometimes even devoting whole posts to the topic, and will certainly continue to do so as time goes on, so hopefully you'll pick up some fun tidbits of Canadian info from here.

      Have a beautiful Sunday,
      ♥ Jessica

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  6. Oh how adorable is the "Hankie Doodles" feature!!! :D

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  7. I love that 40's photo of the girls on the beach, so cute! Though I'm not very patriotic usually, I do love fireworks! Happy belated Canada Day!

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  8. Happy birthday, dearest Jess. I hope you had a splendid day and got spoiled just like you deserve it. :) I am way behind with your blog, I'm so sorry. I spent the first week of our holiday working like a mad woman. We had so many things to do, so we got up early and worked our butts off. But now we are at my tiny summer cottage and I want to relax in my garden with a good read. And what is my favourite reading? Yep, CV. I envy the Americans way of celebrating. I wish we had such thing as our nation's birthday here in Denmark. I would go mad wearing our colours, red and white, and buy matching jools and bake cakes, etc. :) But we don't. I do love all the red, white and blue theme things here and adore the shampoo ad. Do expect more comments from me, dear, and don't feel stressed about answering them. Wishing you a lovely day. hugs from Denmark

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    1. Thank you very much, my darling friend! Hard to believe that I'll be 31 on Friday. Wasn't I just posting about hitting the big 3-0 last year. It feels like mere days ago - how time flies!

      Please don't worry for the tiniest of moments. Vacations, and summer in general, are meant to be enjoyed and savored, not necessarily spent on the computer. It's always a true pleasure to hear from you anytime, anywhere, and on any post and I really appreciate that you commented on so many recent ones today.

      You'll just have to celebrate Canada Day with me each year, as our countries have the same national colours (red and white) and you'll blend in with the crowd perfectly! :)

      You're sweetest! Thank you again & have an absolutely marvelous Monday!

      ♥ Jessica

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  9. Stunning images! Love the first one! I hope you had a fabulous Canada Day! WE have Australia Day here and it's a lot of fun!
    http://inkandlacedesigns.blogspot.com.au/

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  10. Oh I love reading your posts Jessica, your style of writing is so poetic :) I've always thought Canada would be an amazing place to visit, of course America has some amazing places too. I guess Canada seems a bit more like Australia, maybe a bit more laid back? Not meaning to offend any one, but I think you know what I mean?

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    1. You're marvelously sweet, Laura, thank you so much. I really hope that you get a chance to visit our vast nation one day. It's a gorgeous, diverse part of the world and a lot of the folks here are very friendly, polite and fun to be around, as well as fairly laid back, for sure.

      Have a fantastic week!
      ♥ Jessica

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  11. lol Americans did invite the Canadians to "the party" during the American Revolution! Looking forward to my first visit to Canada. I tried to visit Prince Edward Island years ago but that didn't work out. I am now in Virginia so hopefully it can happen someday!
    Laurie

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    1. Very true! :) I really hope that you're able to get to PEI one day. It's a dream destination of mine as well, especially since I grew up enamored with Lucy Maud Montgomery's writings and the TV shows and movies based on it, which were all set in PEI.

      Have a beautiful July, dear gal!
      ♥ Jessica

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  12. My those truffles are pretty! I'd quite like to go to the U.S. or Canada one day but I fear the only way would be by boat and goodness that isn't cheap!

    I wish we had a UK equivalent day but although we have the saints days, they aren't a day off sort of holiday and the only one acknowledged really is St Patricks' Day and that drives me batty, the way everyone jumps on the bandwagon be they Irish or not. It has been nice in previous years to see people flying the Union flag but the only time you see the English flag of St George is when a football supporter is wielding it which has put it in a wee bit of a bad light. And the ones you see in red, white and blue are the fans of the royal family when there's a new birth or a wedding!

    I hope you're well and that you had a lovely weekend xx

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  13. What a cool images! The 40's pictures are so pretty ^^

    xxx, Pri
    vintagepri.blogspot.com

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  14. This selection of images is very nice, the cupcakes are a dream .. yum!
    A few kilometers from my home is the American base of Camp Darby, so I heard the fireworks July 4th!

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    1. Thank you very much, sweet dear. Aren't those cupcakes gorgeous! I so admire folks with mad cake decorating skills. It truly is an art form unto itself!

      I hope that July is off to a terrific start for you!
      ♥ Jessica

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  15. Ooooo, Cherry Chocolate 4th of July cake, YES PLEASE!! :)

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    1. Seconded big time! That is one of the most appealing flavour combos ever! Be it ice cream, Black Forest cake, cookies, a pie, cupcakes, you name it, I love chocolate and cherries together.

      I hope that you guys had a sunny, fun filled 4th of July (our Canada Day was just that and was so lovely!).

      Tons of hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  16. The dog picture made me smile and the ad with the cookies made with Baby Ruth chocolate made me wonder what these would taste like!

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    1. Interestingly, despite being a very famous and popular US candy bar for decades, Baby Ruths are not common in Canada at all. Perhaps some specialty candy shops might get them in, but I don't recall ever seeing them in person and have never tried one either. I'm curious about their taste and those of these cookies, too.

      Big hugs & many thanks for all of your great recent comments,
      ♥ Jessica

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  17. Lovely pictures! Even in Australia we get so much American influence.

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    1. I completely believe that, having seen a degree of it when living in Europe, too. I wish that Canada's influence had as far of a reach, too, but alas, it rarely does - save for the fact that just about everyone the world over who tries it, tends to adore maple syrup. :)

      Big hugs & tons of happy weekend wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  18. I like the look of the hankie doodles fashions, wish I could send away for them!

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    1. Ooohh me, too, aren't they just so fabulously fun?

      Thank you very much for your comment, sweet Kate. I hope you're having a sunny, wonderful last chapter of July. Aside from the sun playing hooky here today, things are great on this end at the moment.

      Big hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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