Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Fireworks, The Sight, Smell and Sound of Summer Nights

9th July, 2010 - Well, it's a little late for the 4th of July.... but...in Japan, all of summer is a good time to get the fireworks out. Indeed hanabi (fireworks) are an integral part of Japanese celebrations of summer, with an number of fireworks festivals to attend. But more fundamentally, it's a time for children to enjoy fireworks. And this was one summer tradition Otousan and Okaasan were happy to oblige with... much to L-kun's delight.



To be honest I am a little wary of this whole practice - but then again, fireworks are banned in Australia (unless you've got a licence) for anything other than sparklers. And the reason is apparently safety - so naturally Australian's of my generation (as compared to my parents generation) most likely haven't had any real exposure to the sorts of fireworks you can get in Japan. And I mean, get anywhere in Japan including the local supermarket. A few years ago, children in Australia used to enjoy the same fun, before they were made illegal (except for people holding a pyrotechnician's license)... and I suppose we can assume that the same will happen in Japan in the next few years (as the world homogenizes towards the mean, the low-risk-low-enjoyment-middle-ground).

Ok - most of the fireworks L-kun played with were sparklers on steroids, but as we'll see in later posts, some of them are pretty big.

This was, after all, L-kun's first experience with fireworks, and he loved it. And what little boy wouldn't. There's just a few small lessons (like don't point them in the direction of anyone, least of all yourself). Actually, L-kun really loved the fun of dropping the spent fireworks into the bucket of water to hear that satisfying sizzle sound. In fact, the disposal part was soon to be his job... and he acquitted himself very well.

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