A Neighbour’s New Year Decoration
Buildings towered side by side and ours almost touched the chain link of an enclosed basketball court; gathering place and first stop for family firework nights. I enjoyed the shows, with one memorable exception.
I watched the family arrive, place their huge box by the entrance and scurry to the opposite end in enthusiastic anticipation. The box didn’t start. Then it sputtered, shot out a few sparks, sputtered again, and tipped on its side. Banging and popping, it sent an onslaught of shots directly toward them.
Mama and young child backed away until they collided with the fence and Baba tried to block his aging mother from the line of fire as she hobbled in search of safety. Enclosed, there was no escape. I could only cringe.
What a way to celebrate!
The biggest holiday of the year gives the Chinese an opportunity to revel in one of their many inventions. Legend tells that Ancient Chinese alchemists, in attempt to create an elixir of life, mixed charcoal with sulphur and potassium nitrate and, bang – they invented gunpowder. They embraced this new discovery and soon began filling hollow bamboo tubes to make rockets.
Those rockets sound similar to many of the items being sold at our intersection tonight. There are tents popping up at nearly every corner selling bright red packages of explosives. Families save up all year to buy these fireworks for the holiday.
Our shared outdoor space starts to feel like a war zone. Children as young as six and seven are handed lighters and explosives and sent outside to “wan hen kai xin – play very happily.” Neighbourhood kids have been known to chase the “wai guo hai zi” – foreign children (those are our kids) through the winding paths of oriental gardens, throwing firecrackers at them.
We’ve had sparks shower down on us and fireworks hit our windows. Our walkway has been scorched black over and again.
One year, our housing complex put on a show for the community on the last day of the holiday, Lantern Festival. Tall buildings surrounding narrow roads were home to 30,000 people in the space of just one city block. The crowd squeezed together and men, directly in front of us, lit the boxes. Cherry Blossom, a baby then, was strapped to my chest. Brian held a hand of each of our boys.
We enjoyed the colourful display and the grand finale. Brilliant paper lanterns filled the sky above us. It was almost as magical as a Disney movie, until the lanterns caught on fire. Once the flames were burning strong, the lanterns started plummeting to the ground. We were standing directly below them!
I covered Cherry Blossom and ran as fast as I could, sparks falling all around, trusting that Brian and the boys were running too. Back at home, we laughed. It had been crazy, yes, but it was the most memorable Lantern Festival ever.
Come back soon for Part 2 of Chinese New Year Near Disasters