Ripped from the Headlines: July 2025: July Words

The first International Friendship Day was held in Paraguay in 1958, and it was officially declared a world holiday by the UN General Assembly in 2011. Since then, it's been an annual opportunity to celebrate amity between pals who live in different countries and cultures. Amity derives from the Latin amicus, "friend."

Put on your aviator goggles, because July 24 is National Amelia Earhart Day! This holiday commemorates the life and accomplishments of the famous aviator, who was born July 24, 1897. Earhart was the first female aviator to complete a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. She disappeared in 1937 while trying to complete a flight around the world.

The Constitution's 14th Amendment was ratified on July 28, 1868. It granted citizenship to every person born or naturalized in the United States, including formerly enslaved people. The amendment specifies "equal protection under the laws" for everyone and includes language which nullified an earlier Supreme Court decision that the descendants of enslaved Americans could not be citizens.

Canada Day, on July 1, celebrates the anniversary of the country's 1867 confederation, when the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were unified into one nation. Canada is a federation, a group of provinces and territories united under a central federal government. The word confederation comes from the Latin confoederare, "to unite in a league," from con-, "together," and foederare, "to trust or confide."

World UFO Day falls on July 2, the anniversary of a 1947 U.S. Navy air balloon accident near Roswell, New Mexico. Some people claim that the crash involved a flying saucer piloted by extraterrestrial beings. The date is an annual marker for those who believe that intelligent creatures from outside our planet and galaxy have been spotted overhead, in the form of unidentified objects. Extraterrestrial means "outside the Earth," from the Latin root terra, "earth."

July 4 is Independence Day in the United States, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. It was on that day that the 13 original American colonies were officially liberated from British rule and declared to be separate and self-sufficient. The day is commonly celebrated with fireworks, parades, and barbecues.

Those who appreciate a little chaos and tumult in their lives look forward to Pandemonium Day every year on July 14. This unofficial holiday offers a chance to surrender to life's uncertainty and to embrace its inevitable disorder and turmoil. John Milton coined pandemonium from roots meaning "all" and "evil spirit" — in Paradise Lost it was the part of Hell where all demons lived.

The Fourth of July is a day when the patriotism of many Americans is on full view. Independence Day customs include patriotic displays of red, white, and blue fireworks; homes and businesses proudly flying flags; and marching bands playing songs like America the Beautiful. The word patriotism is only 50 years older than the signing of the Declaration of Independence — it was coined in 1726 from patriot.

The United Nations began observing World Population Day in 1989. It was inspired by 1987's Day of Five Billion, when the U.N. marked the approximate moment the earth's human population reached five billion. Issues around the growing number of people inhabiting the planet, especially relating to climate change and poverty, are highlighted on World Population Day. The word derives from the Latin populus, "a people."

In France, July 14 is Bastille Day, or fête nationale, which commemorates the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789. It was on that day that revolutionaries stormed the Bastille in Paris, a fortress and political prison that was also a powerful symbol of royal control. The event led to the violent overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a new democratic government. Revolution derives from the Latin revolvere, "turn."