Photo by the interviewee
This article originally appeared on VICE Germany.New Year’s Day as we know it has existed since 45BC, when Julius Caesar decided to reform the Roman calendar. Ever since then, we’ve found all manner of ways to celebrate the end of one year and the arrival of another.Across the world, many of these celebrations feature fireworks. For some reason, we don’t seem to be able to get enough of spending the night stood outside in the cold craning our necks to see the sky light up for a few minutes.Things have been slightly different since 2020, however. Some cities cancelled their firework displays entirely, while others limited crowd capacity in an attempt to ward off festivity-induced COVID cases. Many of these bans are still in place for 2021.Germany took things one step further and banned the sale of fireworks across the country entirely. They have decided to re-implement the ban this year, a decision that is responsible for the loss of around 3,000 jobs, according to a report published by Reuters earlier this month.Firework fanatics across the country are quite upset. Benedikt, 24, who preferred not to share his last name to protect his identity, normally spends £1,000 on New Year fireworks. We spoke to him about his passion for pyrotechnics and how he planned to spend the biggest night of the year.VICE: What do fireworks mean to you?
Benedikt: I love the noise, the smell is awesome and I like to watch them. They’re like a colourful, starry sky.How did you fall in love with fireworks?
It comes from childhood. One of my very first memories is watching fireworks. My dad used to buy me firecrackers for kids and I’d secretly light them up in the courtyard. It went on like this year after year. How do you normally celebrate New Year's Eve?
I go out into the fields outside the city at around 10PM, to avoid annoying anyone, and set off some fireworks. That's how I develop a plan for the actual fireworks at midnight. Then my friends and family usually arrive, because I always have something special to show. Other people spend a lot of money going on vacations – my pleasure in life is New Year's Eve. That's why I plan it in advance, like when someone is planning a trip.Do you do this professionally?
I shadow a pyrotechnician from time to time. That's how I learnt a lot about the craft. You gain experience, get certificates and then you're allowed to take part in courses to get the permission to earn money with it yourself at some point. But that's not what I want. I'm more interested in privately using the fireworks that are usually only given to professionals. What does that mean?
There are four classes of fireworks: F1 to F4. F1s are fireworks for children, F2s are normal New Year's Eve fireworks, F3s are fireworks for open fields, which are already hard to get. F4s are professional fireworks, which normal people would only get on the black market. I have a license for F3s. I set off fireworks for many of my friends.Do you have any particular favourites?
I'm a big fan of white strobes. They're fireworks that flash white. And Golden Lances, long-drawn gold threads that get caught in the air and sparkle as they go.Why do people often associate fireworks fans with chaos?
True fans set off fireworks responsibly. The worst thing for the whole community is when someone drunkenly sets off professional fireworks in the city. You want to slap someone like that. That shouldn’t happen. My New Year's Eve is completely alcohol-free. If I know I'm going to set off fireworks, I don't drink.Have you ever injured yourself?
When I was younger, I wouldn’t have called it a real New Year's Eve celebration without getting a small burn on my finger from the fuse. [Now] I just use legal fireworks. If you buy firecrackers from somewhere in Poland, they may go off in your hand. You can only find such things on the black market, and by the way, it is booming.What do you tell people whose pets are afraid of fireworks? Our dog used to be terrified. We’d take him out to the country for New Year’s whenever we could.
But did he sustain any permanent damage? Many animals simply act on instinct. They hide, wait until the noise goes away, then come out and go on living their lives. You have a lot of these answers ready, don’t you?
That's just the kind of things that are held up against you over and over again. You need facts to counter them.What would you do if the authorities banned not only the sale of fireworks but fireworks altogether?
I don't know. I would probably start crying. They'd be taking away the last bit of my joy after all I had to give up this year - not just for me, but for all of us.
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Benedikt: I love the noise, the smell is awesome and I like to watch them. They’re like a colourful, starry sky.How did you fall in love with fireworks?
It comes from childhood. One of my very first memories is watching fireworks. My dad used to buy me firecrackers for kids and I’d secretly light them up in the courtyard. It went on like this year after year. How do you normally celebrate New Year's Eve?
I go out into the fields outside the city at around 10PM, to avoid annoying anyone, and set off some fireworks. That's how I develop a plan for the actual fireworks at midnight. Then my friends and family usually arrive, because I always have something special to show. Other people spend a lot of money going on vacations – my pleasure in life is New Year's Eve. That's why I plan it in advance, like when someone is planning a trip.
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I shadow a pyrotechnician from time to time. That's how I learnt a lot about the craft. You gain experience, get certificates and then you're allowed to take part in courses to get the permission to earn money with it yourself at some point. But that's not what I want. I'm more interested in privately using the fireworks that are usually only given to professionals. What does that mean?
There are four classes of fireworks: F1 to F4. F1s are fireworks for children, F2s are normal New Year's Eve fireworks, F3s are fireworks for open fields, which are already hard to get. F4s are professional fireworks, which normal people would only get on the black market. I have a license for F3s. I set off fireworks for many of my friends.Do you have any particular favourites?
I'm a big fan of white strobes. They're fireworks that flash white. And Golden Lances, long-drawn gold threads that get caught in the air and sparkle as they go.Why do people often associate fireworks fans with chaos?
True fans set off fireworks responsibly. The worst thing for the whole community is when someone drunkenly sets off professional fireworks in the city. You want to slap someone like that. That shouldn’t happen. My New Year's Eve is completely alcohol-free. If I know I'm going to set off fireworks, I don't drink.Have you ever injured yourself?
When I was younger, I wouldn’t have called it a real New Year's Eve celebration without getting a small burn on my finger from the fuse. [Now] I just use legal fireworks. If you buy firecrackers from somewhere in Poland, they may go off in your hand. You can only find such things on the black market, and by the way, it is booming.What do you tell people whose pets are afraid of fireworks? Our dog used to be terrified. We’d take him out to the country for New Year’s whenever we could.
But did he sustain any permanent damage? Many animals simply act on instinct. They hide, wait until the noise goes away, then come out and go on living their lives. You have a lot of these answers ready, don’t you?
That's just the kind of things that are held up against you over and over again. You need facts to counter them.What would you do if the authorities banned not only the sale of fireworks but fireworks altogether?
I don't know. I would probably start crying. They'd be taking away the last bit of my joy after all I had to give up this year - not just for me, but for all of us.