What is the naturalization ceremony for U.S. citizens?

On the morning of July 4, 2018, I witnessed the U.S. citizenship naturalization ceremony in Charlottesville, my city, on the backyard lawn of Monticello, the former residence of Jefferson, the third president of the United States. It's called Naturalization Ceremony. When I called to book tickets, the person who answered the phone told me that the naturalization ceremony on National Day and Independence Day is a big event in our summer village and has been going on for decades. The event was expected to start at 9 a.m. and end at 11 a.m. (However, the weather was hot and the entire process ended early after 10 a.m.).

When we took Uber in the morning, the driver heard that we were going to attend the naturalization ceremony. He was very happy and said it was a very good event. He had attended it a few times and it was free to everyone without a ticket. Be an audience on site. The following is the process of the naturalization ceremony. It is much more grand and complicated than I imagined. I thought it would be over after taking the oath of oath, but I did not expect that there is a special naturalization process, which is very grand and ceremonial! Perhaps because the public naturalization ceremony is held on July 4, the National Day, it is more formal and complicated. The naturalization ceremony in the usual court may be much simpler.

Although the ceremony had already started for more than ten minutes when my friends and I arrived, luckily it was someone who gave the opening speech. We caught up with the new citizens who came to the stage and stood together in preparation. Oath-taking ceremony. This oath-taking ceremony is something I have always been curious about and expected to see. Today, I got my wish and could see this scene live. Today's naturalization ceremony saw a total of 67 people from 35 countries obtain U.S. citizenship. People were sitting on a large lawn under the scorching sun. There were also many people standing around in the shade, either family members or friends. Local people who came specifically to witness and congratulate naturalization, as well as tourists like us who wanted to experience it.

Now I will keep a running account of the naturalization ceremony, which is also the last step in the long process of becoming an American citizen. Attending a naturalization ceremony means that all previous naturalization applications, exams, interviews, pledges of allegiance, etc. have all been completed and naturalization approved. From this day on, their long wait ended. They received their citizenship certificates on the spot and officially became American citizens. Since I didn't see the opening, I started directly with the swearing-in ceremony. As can be seen from the organizers in the above flow chart, the entire process is a legal procedure. Important links, including the opening of the court, the announcement of the list, and the closing of the court, are all completed by the judge.

1. Naturalization oath. The people of all countries standing on the stage raised their right hands, palms facing outward, to take the Oath of Citizenship. Everyone followed the judge and said the following words sentence by sentence:

Chinese: I swear: I fully Separate and utterly renounce all allegiance and allegiance to any foreign prince, monarch, nation, or sovereignty to which I have hitherto been subject or a citizen; I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; I will stand firm in my convictions, Unswerving loyalty; when required by law, I will take up arms in defense of the United States. When required by law, I will perform non-combatant military service for the United States. When required by law, I will serve the country under the command of government officials. Important work; I hereby freely swear, without reservation, without evasion, please God help me!

The core content of the above oath is: give up everything and loyalty to the country of birth, and swear complete allegiance to the United States. I don't know about the refugees from the third world who fled to the United States, but seeing two or three Chinese swearing an oath on it, and thinking that they would give up their loyalty to China and be willing to take up arms for the United States, one can't help but sigh. I felt a little sad. However, if you think about it again, for many people who need to live in the United States for a long time, it may be a helpless move due to practical factors such as social welfare. Especially for the elderly living in the United States, only American citizens can guarantee their own pension. payment, otherwise you will not be able to fully enjoy the benefits. In fact, just like our Hukou in China, without a Hukou, many rights cannot be possessed, and government policies cannot be enjoyed.

2. Display the three-color national flag (Presentation of Colors). After the above oath was completed, the host invited everyone present to stand up and began to display the American flag. The U.S. Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps (The U.S. Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps) entered on the right side of the stage. Three people of different sizes, including women and men, came in. , two people played the fife, and the other played the drum. After a while, four uniformed soldiers came in behind, holding the flag and honor guard, representing the U.S. Army Continental Color Guard. The melody is unfamiliar to me, but should be very familiar to Americans.

3. Pledge of Allegiance to the National Flag

The music is paused, and the host asks everyone to put their right hand over your heart and take the Pledge of Allegiance to the national flag.

Pledge of Allegiance:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and liberty justice for all.

英文：I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic it represents, an indivisible nation under God, with liberty and justice for all.

The band exited the stage after the oath was taken. The flag guard and band exit from the left.

4. Receive the Certificate of Citizenship (Certificate of Citizenship)

The host invited the judge to read the names one by one and asked everyone to come down and receive (1) the Certificate of Citizenship, (2) The American flag, (2) a gift book from the invited speaker (should not be available normally). They then took their exclusive seats in the front. During the process, every time a person's name was read, the audience applauded and congratulated.

The host asked the new citizens to share their feelings. The first person to stand up and share excitedly was a British man, expressing how happy he was to become an American citizen. Another man stood up and shared his feelings about coming to the United States 20 years ago, and then said that this day was something he had been looking forward to for many years.

5. Sing the National Anthem

After the sharing, the host asked everyone to stand up again and sing the American national anthem. A local singer was invited to sing the national anthem. The people below put their right hands on their hearts and sang along in low voices while listening.

6. Citizen confirmation link

A lady came on stage and asked the new citizens below to answer We do (we are willing!). I can’t remember the question, but it was probably whether you are willing or not. Totally for the United States. After that, all new citizens and old citizens stood up together, raised their right hands, palms facing outward, took the oath again, confirmed their U.S. citizenship, and recited the oath:

Translation: Whether they are Americans by birth or by choice To be an American, as a citizen of the United States, I am willing to accept my responsibilities as a citizen, participate in my community, strengthen relationships with other citizens, live up to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, and honor "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" not only for myself, but also For everyone.

7. Group Singing of Patriotic Songs

After the above procedure, there is a final wave of patriotic education. Everyone sings the famous American patriotic song "America The Beautiful", which is translated as " "America the Beautiful" or "America the Beautiful", the American guy standing to my left has been humming along with the singer on the stage.

Chinese lyrics for the following part:

Ah, beautiful America! The vast sky, the golden waves of wheat, and the towering mountains towering over the fertile plains!

America! America! God bless you, and for your goodness and beauty, let brothers and sisters all over the world love you!

Ah, beautiful America! Every patriot longs for the dream of the future, dreaming of the holy city shining brightly, and even if his eyes are blurred by tears, the beautiful scenery is still ahead.

America! America! God blesses you, and for your goodness and beauty, let brothers and sisters all over the world love you!

After a patriotic song was sung, the judge finally announced that the naturalization ceremony was over. If it didn’t end, he would suffer from heat stroke. The weather was too hot. U.S. citizen applicants (petitioners) truly become American citizens (American citizens) at this time, which means that they begin to have the right to vote. A reporter was interviewing a woman who had just received her citizenship certificate. She did not speak English, and her husband was helping translate and answer questions. The reporter asked her what she expected next, and she said she couldn’t wait to vote right away! The local voting registration office also moved its office here to help new citizens register as voters on site.

After the ceremony, all the new American citizens walked out of the fence in front of the stage. Congratulations were heard all around. Family and friends gathered around the newly naturalized citizens, taking photos and chatting. All very happy. At this time, I found that everyone was dressed up today and wore very nice clothes. The old man walking by was wearing the three colors of the American flag, red, blue and white, which was very conspicuous and festive.

By the way, I still like the way the United States expresses patriotism and patriotic education. It is more casual, relaxed and diverse. Products can be made and worn in the three colors of the national flag, and there are all kinds of clothes, hats and necklaces. It is very interesting. To be honest, the patriotic education in the United States is pervasive and is much more powerful and clever than the patriotic education in China!

A band started playing on the lawn to celebrate, attracting a circle of onlookers.

They dressed up in a festive atmosphere, but they wore several layers inside and outside, thick hats, and white wigs underneath. They must have been sweating profusely when they played in the scorching sun under a temperature of more than 30 degrees Celsius, and they looked hot.

There was a long queue in front of the tent next to the band that distributed free cold drinks.

I also stood in the queue and got a drink, Coke and ice cream. After we finished, we hid under the shade of a tree to cool off with our friends. It was only around 10 o'clock. The ticket to visit President Jefferson's former residence was at 12:40. We couldn't enter in advance, so we had to wait.