We enjoyed sparklers and a bonfire last weekend and it reminded me a little of cracker night. Do you remember the frosty, winter nights when your back yard lit up with exploding fireworks? Small children cried in fear, dogs howled, dad’s did stupid things, older kids blew up the neighbours letterboxes … I may not be painting cracker night in the best light there … but it was fun.
It was a time before litigation and bubble wrap kids.
We would gather together to watch the colourful spray of fire against the inky sky. The sparks raining down, sometimes a stray one landing on the polyester parkas of the children and needing to be hastily slapped out.
Eventually the injuries mounted up and the sale of fireworks were banned. Cracker night evaporated into the ethos. Pyrotechnics are now the preserve of professionals who know what they are doing, not slightly drunk dads who are operating with a determined “I’ll get this bastard lit if it kills me” approach.
Did your family partake in cracker night? In your childish eyes was if fun or frightening? I can’t even remember why we were letting off fireworks, what was it to celebrate?
We celebrated for sure.My dad would gather for the bonfire for weeks and firecrackers we such a thrill.Guess we are showing our age 🙂 ….but oh it was fun.
Since then we have never failed to use sparklers in the yard on birthday nights ever since our daughter could walk.My girl is 18 and still loves to run around the yard making shapes with them.I love to watch as it brings back such beautiful memories of her as my little girl.xx
Definately got an age thing happening haven’t we.
Oh your post brought back such sweet memories!!!
Cracker night!! What our kids are missing out on!! Weeks spent building the giant bonfires! The purchase of packets of crackers which were then divided up amongst us four kids! Can you believe it, we kept our “crackers” in old cardboard suitcases UNDER OUR BEDS!!! Such a shame that it was spoilt by the “idiots” out there!!
Funny….. you can still purchase fireworks in Canberra! Guess they consider that Canberians have brains…. that’s questionable at times!!
There was such a build up to it – really it was very dangerous – but so much FUN. Can’t believe you can still get the fireworks in Canberra! But then you can get a lot of things in Canberra!
Oh what good memory’s with the neighborhood kids after school we would build our bonfire for weeks leading up to cracker night and then the very last thing to do was throw your dads old car tyres on top then wait till dark to light it up with much delight to us all.
When morning comes you wake up early to go find all the crackers that didn’t go off. Oh the good old days now we have to watch someone else let them off its just not the same.
no cracker night here, janine. looks lovely, but not happening at my house long ago. was it a holiday?