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This holiday weekend, as you fire up the grill and wave sparklers through the air, think about how generations of Americans have celebrated the Fourth of July before you.
Parades, fireworks, and picnics have always been standard patriotic celebrations — while wearing plenty of red, white, and blue clothing, of course.
See how your party plans stack up to these vintage photos of Fourth of July past.
Though the U.S. was in the middle of World War II, plenty of cities still had major celebrations for the holiday, including patriotic parades.
This little girl is dressed up as Liberty on July 4 in Washington, D.C. It’s perhaps the cutest rendition of Lady Liberty we’ve ever seen.
Perhaps at the same event, this grown-up Liberty and Columbia are looking regal in their flowing robes.
These kids look like they’re all dolled up for a parade, with their bikes and doll strollers all decorated in red, white, and blue. Their hat game is on point!
Could there be a more American photo than this? We think not.
This is a pretty well put together kid’s parade in Chicago. It’s got drummers leading the way, and tons of stars and stripes.
The brothers in this photo are celebrating the Fourth along with one of their birthdays. Check out the flags, though, which only have 48 stars, and are from the time before Alaska and Hawaii became states.
These kids are gearing up for a parade in Vale, Oregon. We’re not quite sure what the clown costume and makeup has to do with anything, but we’re guessing it was red and blue.
It looks like Boy Scouts are the color guard leading this parade past Woolworth’s department store. We love the print on all the ladies’ dresses.
Though the decorations at this outdoor gathering are simple with one large American flag, everyone has arrived looking fantastic in their Sunday best.
Long before stars and stripes sunglasses and t-shirts, these women turned themselves into one big flag — and looked great doing it!
We love this slice-of-life photo of everyone looking up in awe at the fireworks on Coney Island. The light-festooned ferris wheel must have been a popular ride while the show was going on.
1972 marked America’s bicentennial, so everyone went all out on the Fourth that year. Uncle Sam is looking pretty impressive riding on his red, white, and blue-decorated pickup truck.
Crowds gather on a beach in New York City to watch sailing ships on the Fourth of July. The Twin Towers stand tall in the background, while a man sells special 1976 American flags.
These kids are absolutely adorable as they celebrate the Fourth. We especially love the kid’s “Dyn-o-mite” shirt, a popular saying at the time from the TV show Good Times.
Is it possible to be any cooler than this guy, sporting a comically oversized red, white, and blue tie? We doubt it.
Everyone wanted to get in on the bicentennial celebration in 1976, including companies like Sears, which is only a shell of what it used to be.
We love the boy’s hat in this photo as he waves a couple American flags around. But check out the man’s sideburns!
The leather jacket and the long, pointy lapels are bringing back all kinds of memories in this photo, and sparklers always look good on film.
Everyone has a pyrotechnic in the family, and that appears to be this guy, who’s really excited about the firecrackers he’s going to be setting off later.
This family painted an old pickup truck for holidays, including the 4th of July parade. Its hood stripes match lots of dresses and shirts, too.
Stars-and-stripes fashion really took off in the 1990s. It used to be a novelty, but more than one dad wore American-flag laden shirts and windbreakers year round.
Safety first, even during a festive celebration, seems to be the motto of this family decked out in bike helmets before a Fourth of July parade.