Is the new year celebrated with fireworks everywhere?

In Finland, New Year's Eve is the only day of the year when civilians are allowed to use fireworks freely.

I understand that in the US, the local Independence Day is the annual fireworks day instead.

What about other countries?

Likewise.

Here in my city, you can use fireworks whenever you want provided that it's nighttime.

Still, the citizens never fail to litter the sky with fireworks when the New Year arrives.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I live in the Philippines. Damn idiot.

edited 1st Jan '13 5:31:04 AM by PretentiousSkyCat

And where is this?

Even if fireworks were traditional celebration stuff in Colorado, we can't right now. Fire danger is waaaay too high and we're under Stage II fire restrictions until they are lifted. (Bloody damn drought this year that has literally dried up every river in a 30 mile north to south corridor around me. Seriously, you don't see running water of any kind in my area until either the Huerfano River or the Arkansas River. Either that or go west into the mountains, the streams still barely flow at 7000 feet.)

Yes, in Mexico, this whole week the sky was filled with fireworks. I actally have a bag full myself.

So everywhere except the US, New Year is firework night. Good to know.

...well, except for places where tonight is not New Year, like China.

I'm pretty sure New Years is still celebrated with Fireworks in the US. Everyone where I live (Virginia) has been setting them off, and I'm pretty sure the New York ball drop uses them as well.

Yeah. America does fireworks on New Year's Eve and the Fourth of July.

In my city there's an official fireworks display (well, there's one in Boston, which is near my city), but unlike July 4th you don't really see people setting off their own fireworks.

In Georgia it's illegal to buy, own or sell fireworks, but you can have small sparklers. It doesn't stop people, they just go right over the border to Alabama to buy them. People here also have celebratory gunfire, that is, they shoot guns in the air. Like right now, all I hear outside is gun noises. They've been trying to stop this since people keep getting killed in when the bullets eventually land.

edited 31st Dec '12 6:29:53 PM by wuggles

Where I live is in similar circumstances. Technically, fireworks are illegal, but the police doesn't care on the 4th of July as long as no one gets hurt.

You can also buy them in the countryside.

Here the 5th of November is fireworks night. That's when we celebrate the capture and execution of a bunch of loony fundamentalist terrorists by blowing things up and burning Catholics in effigy. We also have big official fireworks displays at Hogmanay, of course, and people set off their own fireworks for whatever reason all year 'round. Weddings are popular.

Basically, in any situation where Arabs or Rednecks would be recklessly discharging firearms in to the air, we'll set off fireworks.

What Pretentious Sky Cat said, but it's less fireworks and more impromptu miniature explosives.

They don't even go up in the air, they just stay on the ground and explode, hence the multiple injuries they cause.

We have fireworks, Jackie Bird's annual TV special/dreadful teuchtar music showcase and increasingly unfunny episodes of Only An Excuse.

Here in England, fireworks are legal, and displays both professional and back-garden are done on Guy Fawke's and New Year's. Sometimes people get one or two for a birthday at other times, as well.

Here in the Netherlands, it's the same as in Finland, as the OP described it. Fireworks may be legally sold on the last three days of the year (not counting Sundays), and set off between 10 AM on "Old Year's Day" (as we call it) and 2 AM on New Year's Day.

You'll see, or rather hear, teenage boys setting off illegal fireworks from Christmas to sometime mid-January, though.