Hot-dog contest, fireworks, beachgoing mark U.S. July 4 holiday

President Donald Trump concludes his remarks while First Lady Melania Trump applauds as they welcome military families who have gathered for a Fourth of July picnic on the South Lawn of the White House prior to a fireworks display, in Washington, U.S., July 4, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Theiler

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Americans celebrated the July Fourth holiday on Tuesday with the reopening of a New Jersey beach closed to everyone but the governor after a government shutdown, a record-setting hot-dog eating contest and fireworks displays across the country.

Beachgoing, baseball and fireworks, Fourth of July traditions, were embraced throughout the country, along with family cookouts that favoured hot dogs and hamburgers. An informal peace-and-love festival in an Oregon forest drew more than 13,000 people, including two men who died of apparently natural causes.The United States commemorated the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the 13 American colonies on July 4, 1776. The document proclaims unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.