Let's Get Pumped for Fourth of July

It's just about that time of year again. Fourth of July weekend is a basic guarantee of food, fireworks, fun, and, for some lucky people, a three day weekend. It's also a time to reflect on the female characters that taught us about independence and the largely Tom Hiddleton-related reasons that make us wish we weren't so independent — but only sometimes. Regardless of whether Fourth of July fills you with glee or nostalgia, with excitement or with dread, the fact still remains that it's one of America's most important cultural holidays. Even without Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch to claim as our own (though that certainly won't stop Americans from trying).

Of course, we aren't the only ones who think Independence Day is one of the greatest holidays that America has to offer. From celebrities to television personalities to movies to television shows, Fourth of July has been celebrated with all of the pomp and circumstance (and red, white, and blue clothes) that popular culture can pump out. It's not represented as much on television as Christmas or Valentine's Day, but over the years there have been enough hilarious and thoughtful quotes from celebrities and fictional characters alike that will put you in the perfect mindset for your Fourth of July weekend.

Katy Perry

"You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine. Just own the night like the 4th of July 'cause, baby, you're a firework."

The Office

"I can't think of anything else in my life that I look forward to more than Crab Apple Season. Maybe 4th of July, but that's just because I know when everyone's going to be out of their houses watching fireworks."

Taylor Swift

"There was a Fourth of July parade, and we lived on the bay. All these boats would pass our house and we would try to hit them with water balloons with a slingshot."

Zach Braff

"'And one day people will celebrate this day by getting shit-faced and lighting Chinese explosives on fire.' - Thomas Jefferson 1776."

Drake

Sarah Hyland

"It's weird to be celebrating the 4th of July in England. I'll cheer alone in my hotel room. Don't wanna rub it in their faces."

Beyoncé

"It was the fourth day of July, looked in my eyes and saw that I wanted more than just a man. I needed a friend."

The Wonder Years

"It was the fourth of July in that little Suburban town. Somehow though, things were different. Our past was here, but our future was somewhere else, and we both knew sooner or later we had to go. It was the last July I ever spent in that town."

Stephen Colbert

"Happy 4th of July! If you go to sleep tonight with the same number of fingers you woke up with, did you REALLY honor our country enough?"

"It's Fourth of July weekend, or, as I call it, Exploding Christmas."

"Many states don't allow the sale of fireworks. To me it's not the Fourth of July until I'm rolling on the ground screaming for somebody to put me out."

Jim Carrey

"Happy 4th America. I love ya, ya old coot. Have fun mixing liquor and fireworks today and don’t forget to STOP DROP AND ROLL!"

Independence Day

"Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom... We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: 'We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive!' Today we celebrate our Independence Day!"

Image: katyperry/Twitter; Taylor Swift; Beyoncé; 20th Century Fox; Colbert Nation