Ma and Pa Larsen Visit China: Part 3- Fireworks

Fireworks!


Probably the most memorable part of our first Chinese New Year in China is the constant stream of fireworks that were shot off through the entire celebration. While the skies were filled with bright colors and patterns in every direction, our ears were filled with pain and agony from the variety of noises, which made sleeping a formidable task.

China MYTHBUSTERS: the Chinese invented fireworks= FACT

The firework of choice for the Chinese must be those long strings of fast shooting 1000+ red firecrackers you sometimes see in the movies. I suppose these guys are most effective at scaring away annoying and unwanted spirits that may mess with you and your family's chi. Our friends warned us that we wouldn't sleep that night (and nights following), so we joined the neighborhood with some antics of our own; it was all in the name of "Protecting and Strengthening the Family."



You know the fireworks that your city displays high in the sky for the 4th of July? You know, the ones that burst into all those surprisingly fun colors? My dad bought a box of 48 of them on two separate occasions:



China MYTHBUSTERS: People here are responsible enough to create a safe zone away from people and buildings when shooting holiday fireworks so they don't ricochet off people and buildings=MYTH

Our kids slept right through the chaos after they finally fell asleep sometime after midnight even though those pesky red fireballs blasted debris at our bedroom windows. For me, it was difficult to sleep because even the short breaks between the fireworks were filled with piercing car alarms that the explosives set off. We celebrated these less-than-satisfying moments noticing the headlights flashing in-sync with the car alarms, which beamed through our curtains, too.

The shenanigans stopped around 2am when Tiffany and I finally got some shuteye. We woke up on New Years morning to layers of beautiful red firecracker debris covering the grounds of our courtyard like a fresh winter's snow. Then, before I thought of taking a picture of our morning surprise, the building ayis had our most of our festive snow efficiently swept up in garbage bags: they only left small piles on the grass and under bushes like this one:



Notwithstanding all the annoyances, New Years was really fun and exciting to experience. I mean, where else do you get a firework show for 5 days straight visible from your bedroom? Where else can you actually participate in the holiday pyrotechnics and not go to jail?