Since the first U.S. Independence Day was held 248 years ago, fireworks have played an integral part in Fourth of July celebrations. Philadelphia and Boston hosted the first organized Independence Day events in 1777. “The evening was closed with the ringing of bells, and at night there was a grand exhibition of fireworks (which began and concluded with thirteen rockets),” the Pennsylvania Evening Post reported on July 5, 1777. The tradition continues, with sales surpassing $2 billion in recent years. Legal consumer firework purchases vary by state: Some allow Roman candles, skyrockets and cone fountains, while others are limited to novelties such as sparklers—and one state and one territory outlaw all of them.
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