Limlingan: The New Year bang

Wednesday, January 5, 2011
AS IN every New Year, we are filled with hope that all the blessings of the coming months be with us.

A new year brings opportunities for us to look forward to unload all the unpleasant things we had done, or the things we failed to do. We tend to improve where we were dissatisfied and we try to avoid the things that give us dissatisfaction.

During the last-day-of-the-year revelry, we witness the lighting of various fireworks in streets and other public places. As I witnessed the farewell ceremonies of the outgoing year, it came to my mind that all what was bad should be burned with the firecrackers.

On fireworks, many noted the invasion of Chinese fireworks that provide ostentatious display of colorful lights and sparks, with explosions in various decibel ranges.

I was a “player” of the lowly bamboo cannon during my year. With a little kerosene and some friends, we used to fire these crude cannons during the New Year. Others use the “kalburo” sourced out from fruit vendors in public markets for a louder bang. New Year then was celebrated in simple primitive ways.

Most of the firecrackers then were the family of triangles with the largest, called the super lolo. The kwitis was a regular cast of the New Year bang. The “whistle bomb” is still here until now. I’ve heard a couple of whistling sounds that seemed to be like real bombs dropped from the air.

The Chinese were said to have invented the first fireworks. When they discovered gunpowder, they developed it with chemicals that produced either a bang or a light made of sparks. From the early days of the Chinese on their chemistry, they were made famous with their creativity on the development of rockets and other explosive materials.
I walked by our public market during the afternoon of the last day of the year to buy my “lusis”. Call me a coward but I am really adamant to light the high caliber mini-bombs. I’d rather enjoy the New Year celebrations with the non-explosive types or the “pailaws”.

While squeezing myself with the crowd of firecracker-buyers, I’ve noticed the influx of Chinese-made fireworks of the explosive and non-explosive kinds. Most of those Chinese-made came in vibrant colors and excellent packaging.

In the Philippines, we have Bulacan, particularly the town of Bocaue, as the fireworks manufacturing capital. Although there are other towns in this province where fireworks are likewise manufactured and sold, Bocaue was made famous because of these industries.

With the rapidly dominating Chinese fireworks in the market, Bocaue’s industries are said to have been greatly affected. Local manufacturers noted the decrease in the demand for local firecrackers, as they blame imported ones sold either in malls or in the streets.

Commodities like sugar and rice are affected by their imported counterparts in the country. Sad to note, these imported commodities are cheaper and are said to have better quality than our own produce.

Talking again about fireworks, the Chinese-made are the ones lighted at the malls during the holidays. Their display of a variety of colors and bang gives delight to onlookers. Comparatively, those imported ones are safer than those locally made, as observed.

Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/opinion/limlingan-new-year-bang