Firecracker
A firecracker (cracker, noise maker, banger[1]) is a small explosive device primarily designed to produce a large amount of noise, especially in the form of a loud bang, usually for celebration or entertainment; any visual effect is incidental to this goal.
[citation needed] The key to loud firecrackers, however, although in part lying in the propellant substance, is pressure.
James Dyer Ball, in his book Things Chinese, has a detailed description about the process and material used for making firecrackers at the end of the 19th century.
The firecracker tubes were made from pieces of straw paper wrapped around iron rods of various diameters and then tightened with a special tool.
After India's National Green Tribunal (NGT) enacted a ban on the sale and use of crackers on Diwali festival in 2020, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) developed green crackers made from cleaner raw materials which reduce emissions by suppressing the production of dust; their emissions are 30% lower but are also of reduced loudness, at 110-125 decibels instead of the more than 160 decibels of traditional firecrackers.
However, green crackers still contain harmful pollutants such as aluminium, barium, potassium nitrate and carbon.
Individual Mandarin crackers were most often braided into "strings" of varying lengths, which, when ignited, exploded in rapid sequence.
Most Mandarin crackers were colored all red and did not generally have designs or logos decorating their exterior surface (or "shell wraps").
Firecrackers are commonly used in celebration of holidays or festivals, such as Halloween, Independence Day (also known as the Fourth of July) in the United States, Diwali in India, Eid al-Fitr in Southeast Asia, Tihar in Nepal, Day of Ashura in Morocco, Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night in the United Kingdom, Halloween in Ireland, Bastille Day in France, Spanish Fallas, in almost every cultural festival of Sri Lanka (e.g. Sri Lankan New Year), New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, and in the celebration of Chinese New Year by Chinese communities around the world.
[8][9] Tasmania, ACT and Northern Territory allow consumer use with a permit (dependent on calendar date).
[10] Firecrackers are not authorized under the Explosives Act, thus making importation, possession, transportation, storage, or manufacturing illegal in Canada.
[11] The use of firecrackers is regulated by the Law on Explosive Substances and the Production and Trading of Weapons (Croatian: Zakon o eksplozivnim tvarima te proizvodnji i prometu oružja).
[12] Each year since 1993, between 15 December and 8 January, the police carries out the "Peace and good" action with the aim of prevention of people from getting hurt and violating public order.
An unusual[clarification needed] feature is that many residents in major cities look down on street-level fireworks from their tower blocks.
Before, mid-size kiinanpommi or kiinari ("Chinese bomb") and tykinlaukaus and large tykäri ("artillery shot") had become cheap and common products that were often used by children after the celebration, leading to accidents.
[15] Firecrackers and fireworks were banned in Hong Kong for security reasons in 1967,[16] as a result of many IED attacks in the 1967 Leftist Riot.
[20] In October and November, farmers from Punjab and Haryana burn agricultural waste and the weather tends not to be windy, so Delhi's air pollution usually increases, which has been a major environmental problem in recent years.
In October 2017, the Supreme Court banned firecrackers in Delhi, as a result of which the industry said it faced losses of Rs 1,000-crore and consequently layoffs.
[5] Nonetheless, many firecrackers were used to celebrate the Vijayadashami and Diwali holidays in 2020, immediately after which Delhi's air pollution was over 9 times the level that the World Health Organization considers safe.
[23] Firecrackers and fireworks are generally forbidden in public during the Chinese New Year, especially in areas with significant non-Chinese populations, to avoid conflict between the two.
The usage of firecrackers is legal in some metropolitan areas such as Jakarta and Medan, where the degree of racial and cultural tolerance is higher.
[30][31] Injuries involving the use or ingestion of "Piccolo" sticks account for the majority of firecracker-related incidents in the country.
[32][33] However, in December 2020, firecrackers were banned in some areas of Metro Manila to prevent injuries and avoid mass gatherings in the region due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some provinces and municipalities outside of Metro Manila also imposed a firecracker ban to make sure that minimum health protocols will be observed during the new year celebration.
[41] Under the supervision of the fire and police departments, Los Angeles regularly lights firecrackers every New Year's Eve, mostly at temples and the shrines of benevolent associations.
The San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade, the largest outside China, is accompanied by numerous firecrackers, both officially sanctioned and illicit.
