Fireworks sales started in the Eindhoven region on Thursday. After two corona years, people can end the year with a bang again, and so the fireworks packages went over the counter like hotcakes.
People are walking in and out of Jan de Wit’s El Blanco fireworks store. “Some items are already out of stock. We actually have too few fireworks. We have fewer fireworks from China now and We have mostly sent other fireworks from previous years abroad.”
In presales, De Wit had already sold more than 1,200 pounds of fireworks, and he also sees that people are eager to buy again after two years. “You see people are buying more now. They have some money saved up that they couldn’t spend the last two years. Now they’re spending that on fireworks. I know people who even stopped drinking alcohol or stopped smoking in order to have the money to buy fireworks.”
Hundreds of euros
This became evident on the first day of sales. The items are sold fast and they are not cheap. “I got six hundred euros worth of fireworks, to be able to celebrate again this year”, one man explained to Studio040. “I always get a budget for the kids and I just have to stick to that every year. This year it’s 150 euros”, says another fireworks fanatic.
“People want to catch up after the corona period anyway, so they stock up a bit more. I also think they save a bit more because the Eindhoven municipality wants to impose a ban,” explained fireworks salesman Jan de Wit.
Fireworks ban
Eindhoven municipality wants residents to stop setting off fireworks from the year 2023/24. The council announced this in July. Enthusiasts are not very happy to hear this decision. “It is a tradition to set off fireworks at the start of the new year. It would be outrageous if we were not allowed to set off anything in the near future,” explains a man who has just bought his fireworks packages. “I get my fireworks through other channels anyway, so for me, it’s not such a disaster,” says another man.
A tradition for enthusiasts, then, although people in downtown Eindhoven think differently. “A ban is fine by me. Every New Year’s Eve you see people with eye injuries and that’s really distressing. Especially if you’ve experienced it up close, not setting off anything anymore would contribute to that,” one man let Studio040 know. “Pets also benefit from a fireworks ban. They always get frightened during new yer’s eve and become afraid of fireworks”, says another woman*.
Source: Studio040
Translation: Chaitali Sengupta. She also gives online INBURGERING classes.
* Are people setting of fireworks outside the times allowed (between December 31st 18.00 and January 1st 02.00) or in places where this poses a danger to people or animals? If you wish to report this, call the police: 0900 -8844.
Edited by Greta
