I'm not one for demanding others live as I do, in fact I really appreciate the diversity of the human condition. And I don't mind how others celebrate the bringing in of a new year. As Aotearoa is the first nation in the world to bring in the New Year (if one excludes from tiny Kiribati, population 120,000), perhaps we have more reason than others to celebrate. But what I don't appreciate is how obtrusive some folk are when they celebrate.
Fireworks can be purchased by the general public only on a few days before November 5 each year. I won't go into the reason why here, but there seems to be a trend away from lighting them on that day, which more often than not is wet and windy, and instead putting them in storage until New Year's Eve. Then on the stroke of midnight setting them off terrifying pets and waking the neighbourhood.
Apart from the hazards of storing gunpowder in one's house or garage for almost two months, have any of the folk who celebrate the New Year by letting off fireworks at midnight thought about how it affects animals and humans? I really don't appreciate being woken at that time by the sounds of exploding fireworks. Nor does our cat Frankie. Admittedly from our home perched at the top of a hill overlooking our township, the spectacle is quite amazing to watch, and if I'd been awake at that time I might have actually enjoyed it. But I wasn't and I didn't.
At the time of publishing, this post, the New Year arrived 12 hours and 6 minutes ago, but i'm still feeling no better now than I did when rudely woken at midnight.
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