Fireworks

My husband and I spent Christmas and the New Year in the Philippines.

Peter experienced a “real” New Year fireworks really up close and personal.  I have to admit that fireworks to welcome the New Year in the Philippines can be so frightfully frightening with their overly loud bangs and blazing brightness exacerbated by shots from real firearms.  In fact a young girl was killed by stray bullet this year, which spark gun ownership debate.

Fireworks originated in China where there was a large deposit of saltpetre (potassium nitrate).

The first form of firework would probably had been the crackers which was invented in the 7th century China.  The  Chinese crackers held its popularity and still widely used in China of course, LOL, and the rest of its neighbouring Asian countries.

Fireworks have become an important ingredients to celebrate and commemorate festivals, weddings, birthdays, etc.

Apparently the first recorded firework display in England was in 1486 during Henry VII wedding to Elizabeth of York.

The wedding was worthy of a firework display as it brought the end to the War of the Roses by uniting  the Houses of Lancaster and York and thus kick-started the Tudor Dynasty.