Summer is here, a season that stirs our senses – sizzling sounds from backyard grills, the sharp crack of a bat at a little league game, and skies lit with fireworks on the Fourth of July.
But have you ever stopped to wonder where these iconic summer rituals came from? As it turns out, many of our most cherished seasonal pastimes have surprising, and sometimes quirky, stories of origin.
For example, barbecuing may seem like a modern summer tradition, but it has ancient, global roots. The term comes from barbacoa, used by the Taino people for slow-cooking meat over fire. Spanish colonizers spread the method, and in the American South, it became a cultural and political event.
By the 19th century, smoked meat gatherings were Southern staples. After World War II, grilling symbolized suburban summer leisure, thanks to portable grills and backyard cookouts.
Children love the jingle of an ice cream truck, but before refrigeration, vendors sold scoops from pushcarts in the late 1800s, shouting “Hokey pokey!” to draw crowds. Motorized ice cream trucks first appeared in the 1920s, but it was Mister Softee’s 1956 jingle – designed to cut through city noise, not just charm ears – that made the sound iconic.
The myth that summer vacation was for farm help is false; kids were needed in spring and fall. Summer breaks began in 19th century urban schools, where hot classrooms made year-round learning impractical. Wealthy families left cities in summer, and schools closed too. Over time, summer vacation became a cultural norm despite advances like air conditioning.
America’s love affair with fireworks on Independence Day goes back further than you might think. In a letter to his wife in 1776, John Adams wrote that the anniversary of independence should be marked with “pomp and parade … bonfires and illuminations.”
Just one year later, Philadelphia hosted the first Fourth of July fireworks display, and the tradition spread rapidly. Fireworks had long been used in Europe for royal celebrations and military victories, so it made sense for a newly independent nation to borrow the tradition to celebrate its own birth.
Barbecues, ice cream trucks, summer breaks and fireworks could be considered as modern-day summer events. But each one has roots, from old-world grilling methods to colonial parades to clever ways of beating city heat.
The next time sparks light up the July sky or kids chase a jingly truck down the block, think how summer isn’t just a season. From coast to coast, it’s more like a love story we add to every year. Here’s to a great summer!
Writer, editor and speaker Cheryl Russell is a Laguna Woods Village resident. Contact her at Cheryl@starheart.com.
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