Americans will soon be getting prepared to take part in Independence Day on July 4th with fireworks. Even in the current era of mediocrity fireworks still have the ability to awe us and to make us swoon.
The First Fireworks
Fireworks first appeared in 200 BC in the time when the ancient Chinese would roast bamboo pieces in a fire. Hollow pockets in the bamboo would explode, and evil spirits would be warded off.
By 900 AD, during the Tang Dynasty, Chinese alchemists were mixing saltpeter (potassium in nitrate) as well as charcoal and sulfur which was the earliest type of gunpowder.
They filled it with hollowed out bamboo sticks and then roasted these to give off the sound of a blast. Nowadays, fireworks are element of Chinese New Year and the mid-autumn Moon festivals.
The 10th century was when Chinese had discovered that fireworks could be affixed to arrows and create basic bombs. By the 12th century they had mastered the art of shoot the explosives into the air, and thus create the first aerial fireworks.
By 1240 AD 1240 AD, the Arabs were well-versed in gunpowder, and its usages from China. Arab writers referred to fireworks, fireworks, and other explosives as “Chinese flowering plants.”
The 13th century witnessed an increase in trade and gunpowder-related formulas began appearing across Europe in Europe and Arabia. Alchemists began tinkering with the formula and then they came up with more potent gunpowder to use in cannons and muskets.
At the same time, in England fireworks experts were referred to in the English language as “firemasters,” and their assistants were known as “green guys,” due to the fact that they wore caps made out of leaves. This was done to shield them from sparks from the fireworks.
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Fireworks in Europe
During the Renaissance in Europe, there were fireworks schools to train artists. They also were common in Italy. In the 1830s, Italians added trace amounts metals to the mix so that they could create multi-colored display.
Fireworks were often used for public celebrations and religious ceremonies and became particularly loved by European rulers. The earliest recorded celebration of fireworks of Great Britain took place on Henry VII’s wedding day , 1486. Henry VII was the father of the more well known Henry VIII.
In France there were fireworks as part of the display for guests at Versailles as well as in Russia, Czar Peter the Great performed a five-hour fireworks display in celebration of the birth of his son.
On May 15, 1749, the English Duke of Richmond put on a fireworks celebration in Whitehall in the River Thames, for the benefit of King George II to celebrate the signing of the treaty that marked the end of the War of Austrian Succession. To commemorate the event, music composer George Frideric Handel created an accompanying piece of musical music called, “Music for the Royal Fireworks.”
Unfortunately, an explosion hit onto the pavilion that housed all the other fireworks. Several thousand fireworks ignited simultaneously and killed three people.
The New World
Captain John Smith may have set off the very first fireworks at the Jamestown Colony in 1608.
On July 4, 1777, fireworks displays celebrated the nation’s first birthday. In 1789, George Washington’s swearing-in was accompanied by a fireworks show.
The day prior to the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, John Adams wrote in a letter to his wife:
“The day is going to be remembered in the history and culture of America, … I am apt to believe that it will be cherished by the generations to come as the most important anniversary celebration. It is a time to celebrate with pomp and Parade … bonfires and illuminations [fireworks] … from one end of this continent to the other from now onward forever.”
All over the world, people use fireworks to celebrate.
France is known for its fireworks. It’s the day of Bastille Day (July 14) in commemoration of the storming in the Bastille in 1789. Hungary has fireworks set off on August 20th. in India fireworks are a part of their “festival of light” (Diwali) that takes place during the months of October and November each year.
Japan has over 200 celebrations for fireworks in August. with the largest in Tondabayashi and Osaka. Then, in Monte Carlo, fireworks are part of the National Day of Monaco on November 18th.
Singapore has its Singapore Fireworks Celebrations on its National Day. In Switzerland the fireworks go off on the National Day, August 1st.
Great Britain uses fireworks on Guy Fawkes Night, which falls on November 5th, to celebrate the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. Massive fireworks displays take place across the metropolitan areas that include Sheffield, Holyhead, Inverness, Cambridge, and Cardiff.
in the U.S., on the Fourth of July, there are huge fireworks displays in New York City over the Hudson River, along the Charles River in Boston, and on the National Mall in Washington DC.
If you’ve been to one of the Disney parks, you’re aware that the night usually ends with an amazing fireworks show.
In 2004, Disneyland, in Anaheim, California, pioneered the use of compressed air instead of gunpowder in the launch of fireworks. They also used an electronic timer to ignite the fireworks at mid-air. This led to a reduction in fumes, and greater accuracy in timing and height.
Presently, the Walt Disney Company is the biggest consumer of fireworks in the U.S.