July 4 marks the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, but did you know the first Independence Day celebration occurred a year later, on July 4, 1777?

That first celebration, in Philadelphia, featured something most Americans had never seen before: fireworks. 

According to The Pennsylvania Evening Post , the city put on “a grand exhibition of fireworks which began and concluded with thirteen rockets,” which was a nod to the original 13 colonies.

The day was also filled with bonfires, bell ringing and public toasts, all meant to lift spirits and unite people during the hardships of the Revolutionary War.

So why fireworks? The founding fathers were fans of pageantry. In fact, John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, that independence should be celebrated with “Pomp and Parade … bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other.”

Although fireworks had been invented centuries earlier in Asia, they were the perfect way to inspire awe and to symbolize a bold, young nation stepping into its place on the world stage.