From Oz to Oslo

As in most European countries, it is common for people in Norway to buy their own fireworks and fire them from their gardens to bring in the New Year. Apparently the tradition comes from the fact that December is too cold and wet to expect people to crowd into the city to wait for the local government’s fireworks, so it is more convenient for each person to hold festivities in their own yard. Fireworks can be purchased from temporary kiosks set up in or outside supermarkets and shopping centres (see right), and people in Norway are so into it that they might spend up to a thousand US dollars on their pyrotechnics.

However, it is not a complete free for all, and many regulations are in place. The fireworks can only be purchased by those over the age of 18 between 8am and 8pm on December 30 and 31, and only be used between 6pm and 2am on New Year’s Eve. Some apartment complexes, like my own, ban the use of fireworks on the property. And last year, a law was passed that forbid the use of launchable rockets with ‘guiding sticks’: these are rockets with attached sticks, placed into a makeshift mount like a bottle or jar to guide the direction they travel once lit. The homemade nature of it meant it usually didn’t guide the firework at all, which could fly off in any direction – often causing fires or people getting injuries from rockets to the face. (On New Year’s Eve in 2006, 128 people were injured – including some being blinded and loss of fingers or hands – and 23 buildings damaged by fire.) Those ignoring the new laws face steep fines, and only ‘ground fireworks’ are permitted now.
Personally, I’m glad for any such laws, as I find the idea of private use of fireworks dangerous and downright terrifying. It is not something I am used from life in Australia; in my state (Queensland) you need a government licence to buy, sell, use or possess fireworks, though the laws vary from state to state.

So how did I spend ring in the New Year? For the New Year’s Eve just passed, my boyfriend and I decided to book a top-floor room in Norway’s tallest building (the Radisson SAS Oslo Plaza, though clocking in with just a measly 37 storeys) to better view all the different backyard fireworks displays. And it was well worth it! We had a view over the entire east of the city. A few scattered residences began their fireworks at 11:30pm, by 11:45pm there were 23 different sites we could see launching fireworks into the skies, and by midnight there were will over a hundred! It was amazing to view it all from that height - it was as if the entire city had come together to put on a show just for us. My own crappy camera failed to capture the view adequately, but it looked much like the picture below. And it was clear many groups had spent quite a lot of money on their pyrotechnics: the fireworks we could see continued with gusto until 12:30am, and there were still maybe a half-dozen places going by 1:45am. Now that’s commitment.

Those private fireworks may be dangerous... but they sure are purdy.