The 4th of July is a day for celebrating America’s Independence.  And many people celebrate in many different ways.  I wonder how you might celebrate.  I know that my family has as many people over as want to come, barbeque some chicken, make some burgers and hot dogs and watch the Disneyland and Angel’s Stadium firework shows.  Nothing crazy.  My in-laws however celebrate a little differently.  They live in Colorado, so the kids who live out here in California head out for a few days and help mom prepare all sorts of yummy dishes: Ice Cream Pie’s, Steaks, Potato Salad, coleslaw, beans and set up tons of snacks.  On the 4th, they head to Vail for their annual parade, head back home for fun with the neighbors and then watch a fireworks show.  But once it gets dark, people start pulling out the street fireworks.  It can get crazy!

I was interetsed in finding out what other people do on this day.  I discovered that in Orem, Utah they have a fireworks display that can gather as many as 50,000 people.  A woman from the area told FamilyFun.com about her neighborhood tradition. All the kids circle the cul-de-sac carrying flags to the tune of the national anthem. Then they release red, white, and blue balloons into the sky just before a carefully planned fireworks show.  Every year they try to add something new and this year, they are planning a “flyover” with a radio-control airplane.  How fun!

In the 4th of July Parade in a small town, they choose a theme and neighbors compete for the best “float”.  And then in Chagrin Falls, Ohio they hold a frog jumping contest.  Each contestant goes out to the local lake to catch a frog, then 8 to 10 contestants each time stand in the center of a large circle.  The first frog to jump out wins. The winner in each group moves onto a final race, and the winning frog’s owner gets a cash prize. After the contest, the frogs are always released back into the lake.

So what are your July 4th Traditions?