Dear me, how could you LIVE? 
No matter, as it’s just a very non-urban legend anyway, a bit like Bruce and the spider. And like George Washington and his cherry tree, I suppose.
We eat barbecued [del]aliens[/del] hot dogs and hamburgers, typically, though that’s not so much a matter of tradition as it is just the popular practice. Since it’s summer, it’s a great excuse to hang out outside with your friends and get a little tipsy. Traditionally there’s a fireworks show. People are less insistent on that part in California than in Maryland (which borders Washington, DC), though, I’ve noticed. When I was a kid we went to the fireworks show at the Naval Academy in Annapolis every year as a matter of course.
Then again, we were a military family.
BTW, didn’t mean to show you up, glee. I couldn’t tell you much about the traditions associated with English holidays…
Edit: How on earth do you use strikeout?
[del]You mean this?[/del] del and /del, inside brackets of course.
Thanks. Not knowing that, ruined my alien joke…
In my experience as a kid, the 4th of July was an excuse to play with matches and various explosives bought from a stand on the side of the road. As we got older, alcohol was added to the mix.
On a good night, you only sustained minor burns. But I did hear about this one time that someone lost a finger…
(Independence? Yeah, something about that, too).
Not quite: it celebrates the foiling of the attempt.
And we’ve got a used Prime Minister available soon, if you’re interested. Only slightly shop-soiled.
Although if you feel compelled, you could always deep-fry a turkey out by the grill.
Any truth in the supposition that the Indians also have a name for this day, which translates very approximately as “Stupid Fucking Ancestors!” Day? 