Germans Ready for New Year Fireworks
- 14 years ago
With the end of 2009 just around the corner, New Year's revelers are stocking up on fireworks, ready to see in 2010 with a bang.
Undeterred by the economic crisis, customers are digging for their Euros in keeping with the German Sylvester tradition.
[Manuel Giballa, Customer]:
“I've just bought some D crackers, they're all about the bang. Now I'm here to see what else there is. I feel like a kid in a sweet shop, it's paradise.”
[Manuel Giballa, Customer]:
“I want something that doesn't bang, but is just nice. Something that is nice to look at. It's kind of a tradition that I give my wife a few firecrackers every year.”
And in Berlin, where partygoers traditionally let off their explosives wherever they feel like it, the fire brigade has set up a small, how to do it right, fireworks stand.
[Wilfried Grafling, Representative,Berlin Fire Brigade]:
“We want people to practice how to use fireworks, They need to know not to set their fireworks off still holding them. They need to put them on the ground first. If they are rockets the best thing is to set them off from a container full of water, or to use the pre-made firework containers. They are pretty safe. But most importantly, read the instructions and know what you are doing before one second to midnight.”
One last bit of advice from the fire brigade is not to buy illegal fireworks.
And for those partygoers unwilling to try out some pyrotechnics themselves.
200,000 people are expected around Berlin's Brandenburg Gate for the official fireworks display.
Undeterred by the economic crisis, customers are digging for their Euros in keeping with the German Sylvester tradition.
[Manuel Giballa, Customer]:
“I've just bought some D crackers, they're all about the bang. Now I'm here to see what else there is. I feel like a kid in a sweet shop, it's paradise.”
[Manuel Giballa, Customer]:
“I want something that doesn't bang, but is just nice. Something that is nice to look at. It's kind of a tradition that I give my wife a few firecrackers every year.”
And in Berlin, where partygoers traditionally let off their explosives wherever they feel like it, the fire brigade has set up a small, how to do it right, fireworks stand.
[Wilfried Grafling, Representative,Berlin Fire Brigade]:
“We want people to practice how to use fireworks, They need to know not to set their fireworks off still holding them. They need to put them on the ground first. If they are rockets the best thing is to set them off from a container full of water, or to use the pre-made firework containers. They are pretty safe. But most importantly, read the instructions and know what you are doing before one second to midnight.”
One last bit of advice from the fire brigade is not to buy illegal fireworks.
And for those partygoers unwilling to try out some pyrotechnics themselves.
200,000 people are expected around Berlin's Brandenburg Gate for the official fireworks display.