Fireworks: Encyclopedia II - Fireworks - History of fireworks

Fireworks - History of fireworks

In the Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) firecrackers were made by roasting bamboo to produce the loud sound (known as "bian pao") that was intended to frighten evil spirits. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties (AD 420–581) the firecrackers were used not only to dispel evil but also to pray for happiness and prosperity.

The discovery of gunpowder and the invention of the first true fireworks are traditionally credited to the Chinese, although India is also a likely source. Some scholars believe fireworks were developed in the Sui and Tang Dynasties (581–907), but others believe there were no fireworks until the Northern Song Dynasty (10th century).

Since then, any event—a birth, death, wedding, coronation, or New Year's Eve celebration—has become a fitting occasion for noisemakers.

Musick for the Royal Fireworks was composed by George Frideric Handel in 1749 to celebrate the peace of Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which had been declared the previous year.

America's earliest settlers brought their enthusiasm for fireworks to the United States. Fireworks and black powder were used to celebrate important events long before the American Revolutionary War. The very first celebrations of Independence Day were in 1777, six years before Americans knew whether the new nation would survive the war; fireworks were a part of those festivities. In 1789, George Washington's inauguration was also accompanied by a fireworks display. This early fascination with their noise and color continues today.

In 2004, Disneyland in Anaheim, California, started using aerial fireworks launched with compressed air rather than black powder, the first time that such a launch system was used commercially. The display shell is detonated in the air using an electronic timer. The advantages of compressed air launch are a reduction in fumes, and much greater accuracy in height and timing. (Walt Disney Company, 2004)

Today, the world's most prominent industry competition for fireworks manufacturers is L’International des Feux Loto-Québec in Montreal.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History of fireworks", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki