Fireworks on the Water returns to Columbus on Friday after a five-year hiatus.

There have been plenty of fireworks, metaphorically-speaking, in our fractured nation since the last Fireworks on the Water.  A deadly pandemic, a contentious presidential election, an attack on our nation’s Capitol, a wavering economy and most recently, a Supreme Court decision on abortion rights that is likely to produce consequences that can scarcely be imagined.

Opinions on all of these subjects vary.

But, aside from some of our pets, who doesn’t like actual fireworks?

Friday’s event, sponsored by the Columbus Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation, will begin at dusk Friday on the East Bank of the John C. Stennis Lock and Dam. Gates open at 5. CVB director Nancy Carpenter estimates a crowd of 9,000 will attend the free event, based on the event’s history.

In addition to the fireworks, there will be vendors selling glow sticks/ necklaces, an inflatable playhouse and face painting for kids.  Attendees are welcome to bring picnics with their own food and drinks, but there will also be food and drink vendors.

People are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets. There will also be free entertainment from Mississippi Delta artist Eden Brent, the Mississippi State University Graduate Choir, and Mississippi native Jamell Richardson.

Columbus Mayor Keith Gaskin will provide opening remarks while four T-6 trainer jets from Columbus Air Force Base will perform a fly-over.

But the star of the show will be the fireworks.

Much as it is with Christmas Trees and Easter Eggs, the connection between fireworks and Independence Day celebrations such as Fireworks on the Water, is not obvious.

Fireworks almost certainly had no immediate connection to July 4 and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. At that time, and in the decades to follow, big events were acknowledged primarily by the pealing of church bells.

The association of fireworks with Independence Day began almost 40 years later, based on a poem written by Francis Scott Key as he described the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore by the British Royal Navy in 1814.

Key’s description of “the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air” eventually evolved into the fireworks we use today to celebrate our nation’s independence.

The poem, entitled  “Defence of Fort McHenry” was set to music later and renamed “The Star Spangled Banner.” Congress established the song as our national anthem in 1931.

No doubt, many people enjoy these fireworks without considering the symbolic significance.

We would do well to reflect on that. The original fireworks — the rocket’s red glare, the bombs busting in air — were indeed an awesome thing to behold. But they were ominous, dangerous, too, sure signs of a nation under attack and an unknown outcome. That Fort McHenry and America survived the assault was a sign that in grave circumstances, when it looks as though our nation will be torn apart, we as a people persevere, endure, heal.

Today, there are some questions about the fate of our nation. People are hurting, fearful and bitterly divided.

On Friday, Fireworks on the Water reminds us that we are a resilient people, that we are ultimately one people – Americans. That’s worth remembering and celebrating.

The timing could not be better.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.