4th of July Celebration! Parade Ceremony & Reading of the Declaration of Independence

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Reading of the Declaration of Independence - 4th of July - Old Statehouse - Ancient Honorable Artillery Company 

Independence Day – July 4th – Boston, MA 
Traditional Reading of the Declaration of Independence and Parade 


Start your July 4th Holiday by observing the AHAC Fourth of July Parade and witnessing the reading of the Declaration of Independence! Every July 4th the Captain Commanding of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts reads the Declaration of Independence from the balcony of the Old State House in Boston, as part of Independence Day ceremonies 
Boston City Hall Plaza Assembly: Boston’s Official Independence Day Commemoration! 


The event is preceded by activities at City Hall Plaza usually starting at 9:00 a.m. at which time the Mayor of Boston speaks to those assembled. A parade from City Hall Plaza to the Old State House follows. 
Wreath Laying Ceremony at Granary Burying Ground 
The parade stops at the Granary Burying Ground on Tremont Street to allow officers and officials to lay wreaths at the graves of the patriots. Interred on the site are three signers of the Declaration of Independence–John Hancock, Samuel Adams and Robert Treat Paine. Paul Revere, Peter Faneuil, Benjamin Franklin’s parents and the Boston Massacre victims graves are also here. 


The reading of the Declaration of Independence dates back to July 18, 1776, when Colonel Thomas Crafts, a member of the A&HAC, performed this duty for the first time.