# Someone's setting off fireworks. What for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 7, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someones-setting-off-fireworks-what-for/608751 "2012-01-07T18:31:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someones-setting-off-fireworks-what-for/608751/1 "2012-01-07T18:31:41Z")
So, I’m in East London and someone behind my house is setting off quite big fireworks. Is there some celebration on this date that I’m not aware of? For info, this is a very multicultural neighbourhood with pretty much all races and religions represented within a mile or so – there’s a significant Vietnamese community, a Greek Orthodox Church across the road, a sizeable Turkish population, a new synagogue round the corner, we’re not far from a large Bangladeshi community, plenty of people of African-Caribbean decent, loads of Europeans studying in the nearby college, you name it, we’ve got it. So is there something going on that I don’t know about on this date? Or is it just someone’s birthday? ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someones-setting-off-fireworks-what-for/608751/2 "2012-01-07T18:34:41Z")
Leftover fireworks from New Year that they wanted to get rid of? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someones-setting-off-fireworks-what-for/608751/3 "2012-01-07T18:35:44Z")
Um… Because the blow up? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someones-setting-off-fireworks-what-for/608751/4 "2012-01-07T18:44:51Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Um… Because the blow up? Yeah, duh! Who doesn’t know this? ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someones-setting-off-fireworks-what-for/608751/5 "2012-01-07T19:41:16Z")
Maybe a Christmas celebration? From Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > The original date of the celebration in Eastern Christianity was January 6, in connection with Epiphany, and that is still the date of the celebration for the Armenian Apostolic Church and in Armenia, where it is a public holiday. As of 2012, there is a difference of 13 days between the modern Gregorian calendar and the older Julian calendar. Those who continue to use the Julian calendar or its equivalents thus celebrate December 25 and January 6 on what for the majority of the world is January 7 and January 19. For this reason, Ethiopia, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Republic of Macedonia, and the Republic of Moldova celebrate Christmas on what in the Gregorian calendar is January 7 StG ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someones-setting-off-fireworks-what-for/608751/6 "2012-01-07T19:59:27Z")
They do it because it is unexpected. They have the fireworks. They have the time on their hands. They know it will upset people. What a thrill! A corollary is that kids will break glass on the sidewalks and street. They feel a rush and can dream about the anxiety it causes in others when they see it or are forced to drive over it. They themselves may get a flat bike or car tire out of someone else’s deposit. However, they can’t make that connection because they are mis-wired people. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someones-setting-off-fireworks-what-for/608751/7 "2012-01-07T20:02:22Z")
Someone just got laid and they want to celebrate? 😃 That’s how we roll in Arkansas. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someones-setting-off-fireworks-what-for/608751/8 "2012-01-07T20:06:07Z")
I need to set off some fireworks! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someones-setting-off-fireworks-what-for/608751/9 "2012-01-07T20:48:44Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > So, I’m in East London and someone behind my house is setting off quite big fireworks. Is there some celebration on this date that I’m not aware of? yes, they’re celebrating the fact that they have fireworks. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someones-setting-off-fireworks-what-for/608751/10 "2012-01-07T22:22:11Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I need to set off some fireworks! 😃 Yeah, I saw where you had stopped calling her your roommate and switched over to SO. Congratulations! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someones-setting-off-fireworks-what-for/608751/11 "2012-01-07T23:33:40Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Someone just got laid and they want to celebrate? > > 😃 That’s how we roll in Arkansas. 😃 Skyrockets in flight, afternoon de-li-ight. A-a-afternoon de-li-ii-ight.