Finnish New Year

New Year’s Eve is the only time of year that a permit is not required to shoot off fireworks in Finland. Of course, some people get a little bit antsy and start firing them off as much as two or three days before New Year’s Eve. Come December 31, everybody is shooting them off – all night long. The result is spectacular, and a little bit crazy. I suspect it’s a little bit like being in a war zone: step outside your house and you are immediately surrounded by explosions, you never know when or from which direction the next one will come. My favorite “fireworks” were the emergency flares; normally it is illegal to fire these unless there is an emergency, except, of course, on New Year’s Eve. The flares look like bright red jellyfish slowly floating through the sky.