firecrackers , fireworks, new years eve.

On New Year's Eve, the last day of the calendar year, many people around the
world cast their minds back on the events of the previous year, usually linking
them with New Year’s resolutions and new plans for the future. At the turn of
the year, they often also practise certain New Year's Eve customs and traditions.

Out with the bad, in with the good: the significance of New Year's Eve customs

Fireworks, luces or torches and colorful roman candles, which have always been lit
in large numbers on Dec31, New Year's Eve, are intended to drive away evil spirits
and bring good things. Symbolically, it was not only the light but also the noise that
serve this purpose.  when I was young(er), decades ago, we will go to

EVER GOTESCO for the new years eve celebration,  we would watch the moving
cartoon characters and observe every pedicab, tricycle making  noises using used
tincans tied on the back of their tricycles. burning used rubber tires are lit and
firecrackers  will be thrown. but as time goes by,  firecrackers behaved like
little explosives now, often killing instantly when accidents happen in factories in
Bulacan. if it doesnt kill instantly, it slowly kills the workers who do the assembling.
gunpowder when inhaled in large quantities proves fatal.

the most powerful firecrackers before is called lolo thunder, and plapla, & now? we
have heared of  goodbye Philippines and just last yr, a firecracker named Yolanda.

these improvised powerful "little explosive" can destroy properties, window glasses,
car windshields when thrown directly. in short, it doesnt only inflict pain, injury but
also, can kill.

but have you ever wondered where it all originated?  the firecracker and their use
every new years eve?

some history: 

The history of fireworks goes back thousands of years to China (Han dynasty (~200 BC.),
long before gunpowder was invented.  It is believed that the first "firecrackers" 
were likely chunks of green bamboo, which may have been thrown onto a burning fire 
The rods sizzled, turnex black, and  explode.  Bamboo grows so fast that pockets of 
air and sap get trapped inside of the plant's segments.  When heated, the air inside of the 
hollow reeds expands, and eventually bursts through the side with a explosive sound.

The strange sound, which had never been heard before, frightened people and animals.
The Chinese figured that if it scared living creatures so much, it would probably scare 
away spirits,  After that, it became customary for the chinese to throw green bamboo 
onto a fire during the Lunar New Year in order to scare away spirits, and thus  
ensuring happiness  to their people for the remainder of the year.
so, for the firecracker...  it continued to be used for the next thousand or so years. 

firecracker usage throughout history:

Settlers brought fireworks over to the Americas around the 1600s, where they continued
to be used to celebrate special occasions and to impress or scare off Native Americans.
The very first 4th of July celebration was in 1777, only one year after the signing of the
Declaration of Independence.  When trade relations were established between the U.S.
and China less than a century later, Chinese firecrackers became a major import in
America.

Firework makers discovered how a special slower burning gunpowder mix could be
put in a tube, which would give off sparks when lit.  The dense showers of bright sparks
resembled water spewing from a fountain, and so the new device was named fountain.

Nowadays there is a safe form of firecracker based on the chinese dragon.
For several decades now, people have been questioning the sense of using fireworks
and the expense they involve, which adds up to millions. On top of that, the rubbish
created by the spent fireworks often lies around on the streets for days after New
Year's  Eve, and every year, accidents (fire)are caused by rockets which have
not ignited properly.

for this, Ralph Soriano has formed the Binondo fireworks and firecracker lovers association 
with the sole mission of educating the public on the topic of fireworks safety
and focusing more on indoor firecrackers to celebrate the festivities.

here is an excerp of the mission and vision by Earl Esplana: 

To preserve And Continue the use of Fireworks Display in 

famous Church like fiesta important celebration and to preserve 

the tradition of Chinese community on using fireworks/firecracker 

Interview By IBC Channel 13 Reporter Greg Gregorio

every Chinese New Year in Manila...

The Vision of This Organization...
To protect the history of bulacan and to protect the rights of fireworks/firecracker manufacture in the Philippines.

before I end this I want to share the new Tshirt of   

Binondo Fireworks and Firecrackers Lovers Association, to order just 

contact Mr. Ralph Soriano at his facebook account or click this.

this is your LOVERBOY Dennis signing out. Please observe safety at all cost this
coming new yr. be safe in welcoming 2015.
Happy New Year friends.