5 Fireworks-free Ways to Welcome the New Year with a Bang

The New Year is just days away, and while many of still have the “Christmas hangover,” most of us are gearing up to usher in the year 2012. Even before Christmas, one could already hear the occasional “pop” or “bang” of fireworks being set off somewhere in the neighborhood. Right after Christmas, news reports of people sustaining fireworks-related injuries and fireworks-related fires ravaging homes already started trickling in from different parts of the country.

Reports from the EcoWaste Coalition, in particular, caught this writer’s attention. According to one news report, “the group said its teams found significant quantities of toxic metallic elements in all 11 firecracker types bought from street vendors in Divisoria, Manila.”

The report goes on to describe how teams from the non-government watchdog, using a handheld X-ray fluorescence analyzer, was able to detect “arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese and zinc, which are used to generate sparkles and colors in pyrotechnics.”

Their findings show that “on the average, each firecracker sample contained three to six of these metals that are added to the black powder mixture of charcoal, sulfur, potassium or sodium nitrate.”

This in itself should set off warning bells for New Year revelers who usually include fireworks in their families’ New Year traditions. According to Aileen Lucero, “Iwas PapuToxic” campaigner, from the EcoWaste Coalition, their group is very concerned about the health effects of firecrackers and sparklers, many of which are held by hands or lighted near users who directly breathe the toxic fumes.

She says, “It’s hard to imagine the toxic cocktail created from the simultaneous blasting of huge quantities of firecrackers and fireworks during the countdown to the New Year, especially in urban areas.”

Ms. Lucero continues by pointing out more adverse effects of these traditional New Year celebration “add-ons”: “…the chemical smog can persist for hours, if not days, after the revelry, turning the atmosphere into a virtual gas chamber. This is especially hazardous for infants and children, pregnant women, and people suffering from chronic asthma.”

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In a related article by Ms. Ching Alano, the other negative effects of using fireworks and firecrackers are described thus:
“Air pollution is exacerbated by the dispersal of toxic pollutants into the atmosphere, triggering allergies, heart disturbances, asthma attack and respiratory ailments, including bronchitis, laryngitis, emphysema, and pneumonia.

Water pollution is worsened by fallouts and residues from firecrackers and fireworks that go down to storm drains, rivers, and seas, contaminating the marine ecosystems.    

Land pollution is aggravated, too, by the non-recyclable and non-reusable wastes from firecrackers, including cellophane, plastic and paper scraps, as well as used PVC pipes from “boga” (mock cannon).  

Also, massive noise pollution is created by the loud bangs and tremors that can disturb, upset, and scare humans as well as animals, and even damage the sense of hearing, so the experts assert.”
 
Bearing this in mind then, we suggest five ways you and your family can welcome the New Year with a “bang” – without the use of fireworks or firecrackers:

1. Get some horns or “torotot” for yourself and for the kids. Have fun blowing them as loudly as you can on New Year’s Eve. Make sure though, that the horns you get are not easily “dismantled” or damaged – their small parts may become choking hazards for the younger children.

2. If you’re not so sure about the safety of the materials used to make the horns that are usually sold in stores and tiangges, you may opt to blow your car horn instead (if you own a car). Otherwise, you could also let the kids bang away on your kitchen pots and pans to welcome in the New Year. (I’m sure they will LOVE this!)

3. Make your own “New Year noisemakers.” Partially fill up some old plastic bottles with some pebbles, coins, marbles or other small objects; seal them tight; and voila! You have your very own shakers / noisemakers! Accompany your noisemaking with lots of shouting, jumping around and hugging, and your family will surely have a memorable New Year’s celebration, even without fireworks!

4. If you’re really serious about celebrating the New Year with a “bang,” why not do something really different and light up, not the sky, but other people’s lives? Take the amount of money you’d normally be spending on fireworks and firecrackers (most families average about P1,000 or more) and donate it instead to a worthy cause, the most urgent one being the plea of the victims of Typhoon Sendong.

5. Another memorable fireworks-free way to celebrate the New Year would be to spend it - contradictory to most celebrations where noisemaking is the focus - in quiet reflection and prayer: with each member of the family lighting candles (you may need to help the little ones with this, of course); thanking God for the year that has passed, and for the blessings that He will give in the coming year; and stating one’s “wishes” or “hopes” for the next year. You may also opt to sing favorite hymns, worship songs, or other songs that are meaningful to your family.

Whichever way you choose to usher in the New Year, we hope that you and your family will have a safe and peaceful celebration. May the year ahead bring you even more blessings and happiness!

 
Sources:
http://www.bworldonline.com/weekender/content.php?id=43762
http://ecowastecoalition.blogspot.com/
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=762198&publicationSubCategoryId=80

Photo from flickr creative commons