Aus dem Haus

Days of Nations

Monday was Bastille day in France. So, if you watched the right television, or happened to be in Paris, you would have seen the most spectacular display of fireworks over the Champs-Élysées. In fact, Europe does a pretty good run in National Commemoration Days. The Tag der Deutschen Einheit (German Unity Day, October 3), the Brandenburger Tor gets swarmed with crowds and showered with pyrotechnics the like of which I’ve never seen. But then again, I’m from New Zealand, where our national holiday, Waitangi Day (February 3), is little more than an excuse to laze around on the beach and throw mud at politicians.

But no country will ever really be able to top the US in terms of fireworks extravaganzas. On July 4 this year, in New York, Macy’s (a department store) let off fireworks at three (yes, 3) different locations in the city. Reportedly this used 36,000 shells (what most of us call fireworks) , exploding 1000 fireworks per minute, at a total cost of (wait for it!) over $7 million! Now that has to be the biggest birthday of a Nation celebration I’ve ever heard of.