By Darwin Wally T. Wee, a freelance journalist from the Philippines on exchange with the Economic Observer

For many in China, welcoming a new year would not be complete without lighting a firecracker, whether to ward off evil spirits and shoo away bad luck from the 
previous year, or just simply for the "bang" of it.

Since the invention of gunpowder in China many centuries ago, the use of fireworks and other types of firecrackers during festivals and other special occasions has 
been imbedded in the very fabric of Chinese culture.  

As the Lunar New Year approaches, expect every city and village across the country to turn into a virtual war zone, said Liu Zhao, an editor with the EO's Chinese-language website, whose family usually spend thousands of yuan on fireworks every year.

Although, many city governments impose strict guidelines in relation to the production and setting-off of fireworks, the deeply rooted custom can not easily be subdued. 

In some areas, only government organized-fireworks displays are allowed during the Lunar New Year celebration, also known as Spring Festival.

This year, some local governments have also tried giving away free CDs that feature the sound of exploding fireworks, in an attempt to provide a safe alternative to letting of the explosinves, but, these attempts will likely fall on deaf ears. 

In the Philippines authorities also tried the same tactic of introducing paper trumpets and CDs. However, these did not reduce the people's
enthusiasm for buying and setting off firecrackers. 

Despite the casualties that occur every year - In 2010, at least 35 were killed and 7,480 fires were caused by fireworks being let off over the first week of the 15-day Spring Festival period - and the extra precautions that have to be taken - a report from state-run China Daily said that Beijing's main eye hospital has rostered medical workers on duty for the upcoming Spring Festival celebration as they expect a "surge in the number of patients," Liu Zhao still maintains that, "there is no better alternative to the feeling of setting off a firecracker."

Fireworks in the Philippines

When I was a child, I received firecrackers as Christmas presents, which was a normal trend among Filipino-Chinese communities. My friends and I even concocted our own powerful firecrackers by collecting all the powder from the firecrackers that failed to explode. 

This year, Lunar New Year's Eve falls on Jan. 22, when the Chinese will celebrate the year of the Dragon by again setting off billions of fireworks. 

Shen Changzheng, who works in a pyrotechnic company in Liuyang City, known as the "cradle of fireworks" in Hunan province, said among his main clients are customers from the United States and the European Union.

The best sellers are the traditional crackers or bianpao (鞭炮) and the more colorful fireworks or yanhua (烟花). 

Traders say that the prices of pyrotechnics vary, from as low as three yuan to thousands of yuan depending on the size and quality of the products. 

In the Philippines, we call these loud crackers "sawa" (which means something like snake) or "judas belts" and people in my village would brag amongst themselves as to who has the loudest and longest "sawa." 

Of course, there are also fireworks that are deemed safe for children - sparklers, sparkling wheels, and roman candles.

While other regarded it as a waste of money, for Liu there is no substitution to the joy and appeal that the sounds of firecrackers and colorful flares of fireworks brings to usher the Lunar New Year's celebration. For him, It is priceless.