WASHINGTON (AP) — The Fourth of July is about all things American: parades, cookouts, cold beer and of course, fireworks. Those pyrotechnics remain at the center of Independence Day, a holiday 247 years in the making. Massive fireworks lit up the skyline of multiple American cities, marking festivities across the country.

Thousands of patriotic Houstonians flooded downtown Houston on Friday night for the city’s signature Independence Day celebration, ‘Freedom Over Texas.’