Welcome to the Let Freedom Ring® Celebration

Thank you for your interest in the Let Freedom Ring® Celebration, presented by the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution and its Color Guard.

This is one of the oldest patriotic celebrations in Philadelphia. The Society began stewardship of this event in 1969. James W. Thorington, then President of the Society, said that “Let Freedom Ring was established to revive the spirit of patriotism and to provide a dignified ceremony which will have important meaning for millions of Americans who love their country and have faith in its future”.

This celebration is the only federally-mandated Independence Day ceremony. In accordance with U.S. Congressional Resolution Number 25, passed in 1963, bells across the country are rung 13 times at exactly 2:00pm (EDT), in honor of the thirteen original states represented by the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

We hope that you can join us this year in Philadelphia, the birthplace of our nation’s freedom, for Let Freedom Ring®, the simultaneous bell ringing celebrated around the United States and around the world. In past years, we’ve had participants including many National Parks, Old North Church, The Crystal Cathedral, the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, The Alamo, the UAL Flight 93 Memorial, the Betsy Ross House, the National Cathedral, Washington Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge, and many other ships of the US Navy, the US Coast Guard, the Merchant Marine, and sites throughout the other 50 US states and territories.

At the appointed hour on the 4th July, young descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence will tap Philadelphia’s famous Liberty Bell, setting off the chimes of freedom from bell towers throughout the country.

We encourage you to be a part of the national celebration by holding your own bell ringing, in your own local town or city. Please contact us for more information.