First of all, I really love a good pyrotechnics show and watch the annual international competition videos to see which manufacturer has come up with the latest in artwork-by-explosion. It is literally an art-form going back to 900AD when gunpowder was invented [by you-know-who] and one need only watch a few Japanese or Italian displays to know what I’m talking about because they always give the Chinese a good run for their cordite…. especially the Japanese, who ever since Hiroshima have learned to respect a great big fireball. But competition is always fierce regardless of which nations are setting the night aflame.
Check out the video in this article and you’ll see what I mean…
bestkeptmontreal.com/international-fireworks-competition-loto-quebec-starts-with-a-bang/
Until recent years virtually all fireworks came from China or countries under their direct influence – and in fact 99% of all global fireworks still do so today. And while there are scatterings of manufacturers all around the world -including U.S. plants in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and Virginia- the mega plants all fly those red flags with the five gold stars on them. In all there are 15 nations who export the most fireworks, with the Netherlands [$60-million] coming in a very distant second after China [$779 million] and that list goes rapidly downhill from there.
This means that whenever you’ve bought those Black Cats, Roman Candles, Bottle Rockets and 500-gram cakes you’ve likely been supporting a Communist regime. So, you may want to read those labels of origin as you stock up for your own big bang and at least try to find that -1% made here in the USA. And, yeah: over the years I’ve watched a lot of my money go up in smoke the same way without ever caring where those miniature weapons of war came from!
But, I won’t be lighting any fuses this year.
BTW: ever wonder how Roman Candles got their name?
Allegedly, it comes from Nero’s persecution of Christians [which is itself a gross historical misrepresentation] wherein the condemned were lashed to a stake then covered with pitch or oil before being set alight. But this was actually pretty common when people were sentenced to be burned at a stake because it hastened their deaths and theoretically reduced their suffering… and this was a concept first proposed by church elders. The same church hierarchy who later during Torquemada’s holy inquisition not only burned heretics at the stake, but placed bags of gunpowder between their legs and under their arms to really punish them!
But -of course- those cheap, incendiary tubes wouldn’t be quite the same if they were called “Joan of Arcs”, now would they?
And let’s not forget the human rights violations hardcore Communist Chinese inflict upon Christians and other dissidents. So, any believers who shoot those flaming balls into the air may wish to think twice before flicking their Bic at a fuse otherwise it’s a case of Mr. Hypocrisy shaking hands with Mr. Oblivious! The final irony is that many churches use sales from firework tents as fundraisers for youth groups or other projects~~~
BONUS TRIVIA: Care to guess who is the world’s largest single consumer of fireworks?
It’s the American-as-Apple-pie Walt Disney Company!
h/t GSB/LTD
Disclaimer: This content does not necessarily represent the views of IWB.