Boom! A History of Fireworks

Yeah, I know. I am a little late for July 4, but close! And the fireworks are over except for the trash that is left — and hopefully, that is cleaned up too! 

Except for the fact that they scare dogs (and children), fireworks are pretty to look at. I thought you might like to know their history:

When you think of fireworks, you might think of The Star Spangled Banner: “And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air…”

But fireworks have been around a whole lot longer than the United State of America has. Fireworks originally came from ancient Liuyang, China, in the second century BC. The first fireworks were bamboo stalks that exploded when thrown into fire because of their hollow air pockets. The Chinese believed that these “fireworks” would ward off evil spirits.

Legend has it that somewhere between 600 and 900 AD, a Chinese alchemist mixed potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal, which produced a black flaky powder; this mixture created the first gunpowder.  It was then poured into hollowed-out bamboo stalks (and later, into paper tubes) to produce the first man-made fireworks.

In the tenth century, The Chinese attached the fireworks to arrows, thus creating the first aerial displays. 

Fireworks made their way to Europe in the 13th century. In England at that time, fireworks experts were called “firemasters” and their assistants “green men” because they wore caps made of leaves to protect then against sparks.  By the 15th century, fireworks were being used for religious festivals and public entertainment. The Italians were the first Europeans to manufacture fireworks. Europeans rulers liked to illuminate their castles  with fireworks on important occasions.

The first recorded display of fireworks in Great Britain occurred at Henry VII’s wedding in 1486. 

Early settlers in the United States brought fireworks to the New World. Captain John Smith may have set off the first fireworks in 1608 in the Jamestown Colony. 

In the 1830s an important addition was made to fireworks: trace amounts of metal were added to create multicolor displays.

And of course, back in 1776, fireworks were part of the first American Independence Day. And the tradition continues on. Of course, the United States is far from the only country to use fireworks on holidays.The French set off fireworks for Bastille Day, ten days after our Independence Day. Hungary sets off fireworks on August 20.

Here are some fun facts about fireworks (as of a few years ago):

1. The Walt Disney Company is the largest consumer of fireworks in the United States.
2. Blue is the most difficult color to produce in fireworks.
3. New Castle, Pennsylvania, is known as the fireworks capital of the world, as it is home to both Zambelli Fireworks and Pyrotechnico.
4. The biggest shell available to the consumer fireworks market is 3 inches.
5. Professional aerial shells range from 3 inches to over 24 inches in diameter. Most are between 6 and 12 inches.
6. The largest ever display of fireworks was in the Philippines for their 2016 New Year celebration, with 810,904 fireworks.
7. 404.5 million pounds of fireworks were set off in 2020 (which seems odd to me, since there was a worldwide pandemic).
8. Massachusetts (my home state) is the only state that bans the sale of all consumer fireworks.
9. Ten thousand people were injured badly enough by fireworks  to require emergency treatment in 2019. 
10. The Macy’s 4th of July fireworks show is the largest in the United States.

Hope you had a good holiday!