
When the clock struck twelve, it was as if the city transformed into a different place. Almost everything and everywhere was foggy and you could hardly find a clear vision on the road and the surroundings. What happened to Kuching? Was the city invaded by other living beings from outer space? No, that was not the case but it was because of the firecrackers.

On Chinese New Year’s Eve, everyone was busy doing the final cleaning up and preparation to welcome the year of Ox, which of course includes the prepration to set up the fireworks and firecrackers when the time comes.


I don’t have any special feelings towards fireworks and firecrackers. Although both are interesting and makes people rise up to the occasion, but it is undeniable that they are dangerous and might cause a certain level of damage depends on how you look at it.

For the city to be in a mist, we suspect that everybody lit the firecrackers at the same time as the clock struck twelve. This is because we went out about twenty minutes past twelve and everywhere was so hazy. The smoke created after the firecrackers had finished burning was unbelievable. The driving visibility was still quite low even though the car headlight had been switched on. Therefore, we have to drive slowly and carefully. There were some places where the traffic lights were not obvious because it was too foggy due to the smoke.

Fortunately, this only happens once a year, so it is not that bad. After all, it is the festive season and people are celebrating. However, don’t forget that firecrackers were originally used to frighten away the beast called Nian2. Most of the children nowadays have forgotten about the origin of Chinese New Year and think that firecrackers are some kind of toy to play with but they never see the harm that these things can do to them.




















































1Malaysia



