Hanabi

The Japanese word for fireworks is Hanabi (花火), whose literal translation is flower-fire. I think its the perfect word to use.

Last night, Neil and I watched the 4th of July fireworks on the river. The event is called "Go 4th on the River." They had several bands playing all along the riverwalk so we sat down and listened until the fireworks started at 9 p.m.

The fireworks started exactly at 9 and the show is called "Dueling Barges" because that's exactly what it is. There are 2 barges on the river and they both send up exactly the same fireworks. One barge goes first and then the second goes a split second later. It's as if you're watching a naval battle, but each time you hear a boom, instead of seeing the barges flame up and sink, you see a fire flower in the sky.

It was really great. The show wasn't set to music or anything like that, but it really didn't need it. Just watching the sky light up was enough. I also finally realized why fireworks are so wonderful. Aside from being all sparkly, they're almost scary, but not quite. Their booming sounds make your heart beat just a bit faster and the falling sparks look as if they're going to fall down on you, but just before they do, they disappear. Neil says it's like a tickle. It's "scary" but since you know nothing bad is going to happen to you, it becomes "happy". And that's definitely what we were, even when the hanabi were gone.