No firworks!Taking the 'Spring out of Spring Festival'

The tradition of letting off firecrackers for Spring Festival will be replaced with other ways.

I remember the first year I experienced Spring Festival in Tianjin. At first I marvelled at the fireworks, it seemed as if the whole sky was alight. It has to be said that Chinese firework displays are the most spectacular, not surprising really as they invented them. However as far as I am concerned, fireworks need to be experienced in small quantities, otherwise I worry too much about the consequences. So after a couple of hours of these fireworks I wondered when they were going to stop. I wanted to sleep and it was impossible. It seemed as if the whole sky was alight and it was relentless, just as I dropped off to sleep, another lot were set off. That first night sleep was impossible. I asked my Chinese friends how they coped, some stayed up all night chatting, eating and talking with friends. Others said they slept just fine and didn't notice the noise. So many others repeated the mantra "It's Spring Festival, its traditional to let off many fireworks" that I started to feel as if I was attacking thousands of years of Chinese culture. The next day the air was full of smoke and I started to worry about the pollution, the street cleaners were doing their best to rid the streets of the mounds of spent fireworks, some of the casings were huge and their carts soon got filled up with them.

Too much of a good thing

In the estate where I lived the caretakers would set off firecrackers in the early hours of the morning, almost at 30 minute intervals. They were on night duty so I suppose it kept them awake. I asked them why they set off so many and they said it was to get rid of ghosts. I don't know whether they were joking or not, whether they were just repeating some legend, or whether they really believed there were ghosts. In any event the number of firecrackers that they let off must have made any self-respecting ghost give up trying to sleep and leave the area. I was never bothered by ghosts so I guess their tactics worked – or maybe it's because I don't believe in ghosts that I was never bothered by them and so never had to set off firecrackers.

The second year I was in Tianjin some of my family came to see me during Spring Festival. They had never seen such remarkable fireworks either but the Ooohs and Aaahs were quickly replaced with "When are they going to stop, we can't sleep". The next day they also complained about the smoky air and all the rubbish in the streets.

I guess many Chinese as well as Westerners are concerned about pollution, so the news that big cities are banning people from setting off fireworks whenever they like will be hailed as good news and a step in the right direction.

Hamrful to body and environment

Cities like Beijing and Tianjin have had restrictions in place for some time but this year even more stringent rules will come into play. According to the latest regulations, fireworks have been totally forbidden in the area within the outer ring road, including during the Spring Festival, so there will be a very quiet Chun Jie this year.

The banning of fireworks in more and more places is obviously going to be hugely unpopular and no doubt the local Government have thought carefully before doing so. In fact as far back as 1989 measures were starting to be drawn up to deal with the problem.

Amongst the things taken into consideration were the rising numbers of casualties of firework injuries. The total has been steadily rising and people with eye injuries made up the greater number of those hurt. In recent times the oldest person injured was 75 years old and the youngest just two.

The biggest concern was pollution and a report compiled after the 2017 Spring Festival had this to say:-

"Discharge of fireworks is one of the biggest causes of air pollution. According to monitoring statistics by the environmental protection department, a large number of fireworks and firecrackers were set off during the Spring Festival of 2017 in the city. The concentrations of airborne pollutants seriously affected the air quality in the city. During New Year's Eve, due to the concentrated discharge of fireworks, the concentration of PM2.5 in the city rose rapidly. On the first day of the first month, 15 districts reached a severe degree of pollution, of which 13 were seriously polluted. The average hourly average concentration of PM2.5 increased rapidly by 6.67 times". Sobering statistics indeed.

Some fireworks cause noise pollution in that they are too loud for the human ear to listen to safely and without consequences. Yet another problem is the risk of fire. The fire authorities expressed concern that as many people now live in high rise blocks, the increased risks presented by fireworks would mean that those needing to be rescued from these buildings in the event of a fire would be in serious jeopardy as the fire service are stretched at this time.

Companies lose out

Whilst most of us probably think it is a good idea to limit fireworks in view of the noise, pollution and expense, maybe we could still spare a thought for our Chinese friends, particularly the older ones. They have seen Chinese traditions gradually being eroded and newer, usually Western ones take their place. Fireworks have a very well-respected place in Chinese history and culture and it must be sad for many Chinese that there is now not much left of a traditional Spring Festival.

Some Business will be badly affected, the obvious ones being the firework manufacturers, but there are others. I bet you didn't think about the wedding businesses. Any self-respecting bride must have fireworks at her nuptials, but now the wedding companies have had to agree not to provide them as part of their packages.

And how about the funeral companies? You may or may not know that funerals also require fireworks in great quantities. The more fireworks that are left off, the greater the deceased person's reputation. It's strange isn't it that fireworks are usually used on occasions of joy such as festivals, carnivals, weddings and parties, but in China they are also used in times of grief. Like the wedding businesses, the funeral companies have also had to let their customers know that there will be no fireworks. They will take a big hit in their finances and their customers will be left very disappointed.

However…. banning the wholesale use of fireworks is good and old customs can be replaced with new ones, ones that are kinder to the environment, ones that are kinder on the pocket and ones that are kinder on the body. In keeping with changing times, people can now send red envelopes of money through Wechat. Let's hope that the hospitals in Tianjin and other places in China see less injuries this year. Maybe that will be the impetus that is needed to get all Chinese people behind the quieter, cleaner and safer Chun Jie.

Two cleaning men are clearing up the mess of firecrackers.