2001: begins 225th year of American Independence; The Declaration of Independence was adopted & signed on July 4th, 1776

 O the cuckoo
 Is a pretty bird,
 She wabbles
 As she flies.
 She never
 Hollers 'cuckoo'
 Till the Fourth Day
 Of July.

[I don't know when the custom commonly expired, it's still used in Presidential Proclamations, but it was once standard throughout the US to date letters and documents "of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth" or "The xxxth year of American Independence," rather than using the antidisestablishmentarianistic notion of dating from the inaccurate date of the birth of Jesus.]

BTW:
 Oh, the pigeon,
 Is a city bird,
 And she poo-poos,
 As she flies.
 And she drops those,
 Birdy turdies,
 From way up,
 In the sky.

  © Stephen L. Suffet 2000