Frohes neus Jahr 2014

Happy New Year 2014, that is what the title says in Deutsch.

As usual, Germans celebrate new year with a bang! Once a year or one day in a year to be exact, fireworks is permitted to be played from 7am on 31st December until 7am on the 1st January next year.

For the next 24 hours..its all crash boom bang. But the pinnacles of the “thundering war zone bomb dropping sound” shall be heard starting at the first second of the new year’s day.

By 11.00pm people start gathering at any squares near to their place. As for me, Alter Oper is very near – just a stone throw  away.

[quote]As for the record. playing fireworks is a serious business here. [/quote]

In Frankfurt, there is no such big or grand celebration with concert or stuff and end up with countdown and a big fireworks display. People just gather and celebrate together with their friends and family and playing fireworks. Shops will start selling fireworks 2 days earlier, so with around 50-100 euro you can fill the whole shopping trolley with fireworks.

As for the record. playing fireworks is a serious business here.

It’s all played by the adult. Kids is almost unseen at midnight where as the played earlier with parents and siblings and tucked in before 11:00pm. Around midnight parents will go out to celebrate and have fun.

This video is from the last year. Head to my fb page for this year short clips.

[quote]They wore nice clothes and with a glass of drinks in one hand and a lighter on the other hand to burn the fuse.[/quote]

So, playing fireworks is an adult business here..mostly 18 and above (which is the legal age to buy fireworks) although some special fireworks kit for children under 12 also can be bought. But the common scene here at Alter Oper is older men and women from twenties up to sixties.

They wore nice clothes and with a glass of drinks in one hand and a lighter on the other hand to burn the fuse.

New year’s eve also is a very busy night for police and emergency response unit. Come 12:00 midnight or 0:00 hours, you can start hearing the thundering sounds of fireworks as well as the ambulance and police sirens rushing to treat minor burns and separating drunken younger crowds from making trouble.

No, death or losing fingers cases here as far as i know. Never heard in the news the next day that 2 kids almost died or 7 kids lost 7 fingers due to the homemade “bomb” or one elderly was rushed to the hospital after inhaled firework’s smokes or such.

What I found is..a calm and quiet new year day when I woke up the next morning. And looking from my window, I can see city hall workers busy cleaning up the squares.

Happy New Year everyone!