JCC Why do some people celebrate Palm Sunday with fireworks?

Why do some people celebrate Palm Sunday with 20 minutes of fireworks?

Why?

I don't get it.

 

The burning of fireworks represents your flesh sizzling away in the pit of despair. Jesus knows you only showed up for church to get some stupid palms. You didn’t even drop any cash in the pass around basket.

 

Desperate attempt to get people to come to church?

I guess if you want to spin it, the fireworks are a modern method of celebration, which people today can identify, as opposed to the tradition of laying palm branches along a triumphal procession. There are grown adults I know who have never been to a parade, let alone a "procession" of any measure. It is a concept increasingly alien to our times and mindsets.

The point (whether landed or not) would be to heighten the jubilation of the faithful for the start of holy week.

 

They're shooting off live donkeys?

 

Palm trees are widely celebrated.

 

I think this has something to do with personal history, where someone and their family lived. I lived in Guatemala City for a year and they set off fireworks ALL DAY for every Catholic saint's holiday, which ended up being pretty much once every week. A lot of the neighborhoods in the city are named after individual saints, and each had its own church and huge parade the day of their saint's holiday. Some even had these crazy canons in an effort to outdo one another, like sports teams competing. The hole holy week/semana santa was their biggest time of the year.

There are probably other people on the boards from Latin America who can chime in, but I never saw this kind of all-day firework/saint link in other parts of Central America. Panama barely celebrates Semana Santa -- it's basically like Americanized Easter.

I suspect certain places in Europe do what Guatemala does with the huge firework/saint celebrations. Maybe somewhere in Spain or Italy?

So my guess is the firework thing is linked to what someone's family has done in the past.

 

It's actually very big in the Greek Orthodox Church as it's called "rouketopolemos".

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-27093121

Basically two rival churches fire rockets at each other's bell tower and whoever gets the most direct hits wins. I must admit that sounds fun as hell. I been joking with my wife that we should have my parents come over after the kids go to bed on Easter Eve so we can go to the church across town (where we got married ironically enough) and shoot some rockets at the bell towel. Knowing my luck though it look something like this:

 

Why do people celebrate anything with fireworks?

 

because shooting guns into the air wastes ammo.

 

why do some people celebrate anything with fireworks? my neighborhood any particular day someone might set off something with a bang. new years is like a war zone. for 8 hours

 

I love we reserve fireworks for the artillery division of Napoleonic War historical re-enactirs/LARPers

 

Cause it is still a tradition. You dont see it much cause of noise complaint violations laws in cities or towns now a days. But back in the day Palm Sunday, had fireworks going off all day, or at sunrise to represent Jesus arrival in Jerusalem. A new dawn. Latinos celebrate it more often than others, besides the Greeks, Orthodox Greeks at least.

 

People celebrate Palm Sunday?

 

Why are you even surprised? Why are you even asking? Have you ever been to China during Lunar New Year? If not, "you ain't seen nothing yet". Not only did China invent fireworks (no, Gandalf didn't ), they sure LOVE using them for every big event, that includes firecrackers or anything else that makes noise. WHY? Because it's their way of celebrating. You may as well ask why people celebrate Christmas. Why does Christmas have to involve an old guy dressed in red with a long beard riding in the sky with reindeers? The simple answer is: different cultures have different ways of celebrating things. Were that any different the world would be a much more boring place! As the French say, "vive la difference".

 

It should be prohibited.

 

By the same logic everything else that could potentially be dangerous should be prohibited as well, that means cars, knives, motorcycles, power tools, gasoline, cigarette lighters, matches, candles, campfires, fireplaces in homes etc..... basically everything!

 

What same logic?

 

As I said, the reasoning that something that is potentially a hazard needs to be banned. You did mean fireworks should be prohibited? Or did you mean something else? A little confused here...

 

Looks like you're confusing yourself. I didn't use any logic or reasoning.