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It ’ s a familiar noise known across cultures . It ’ s a noise that cuts to your core , the reverberations turning you into a human base drum . We all know , assuming we paid attention in our eighth grade history class , that it was Francis Scott Key who penned our national anthem after the loud , booming Battle of Baltimore . Key was aboard a British ship negotiating the release of prisoners where he was briefly held captive and forced to watch the battle from afar unable to help . When dawn broke , Key saw the American Flag waving proud - it too had survived the night . This vision was his inspiration for his poem the Star-Spangled Banner . Which was , surely we know even if eighth grade history didn ’ t pique our interests , later put to music for our national anthem . Back stories always put things into perspective , don ’ t they ?
We ’ ve all been to a fireworks show at least once or twice . Growing up , fireworks were the highlight of my summers ... at least after I got over being terrified of them . As a kid , we would go to July 4th fireworks as a family and it was truly wonderful . Where I grew up , some of the neighboring towns had fireworks shows for July 4th , but our town had fireworks for their annual fall festival and one year , we almost missed them . To my eight year old self , missing the show would have been a disaster . I have a very vivid memory of my mother rushing to get us all in the car to make it to as much of the fireworks as possible . We got into town before anyone realized that my sister had two different shoes on but at that point , it didn ’ t matter - we were together . And now it makes for a pretty good story . Okay , maybe you had to be there .
Although the sensory experience of our national anthem set to fireworks seems like the epitome of patriotism , fireworks are not unique to American culture . If you ’ ve ever watched the New Year ’ s Eve celebrations on TV , midnight on January first calls for fireworks around the world . Fireworks are not even unique to holidays . In some cultures , families shoot off fireworks when a baby is born . When I was in college , I spent six months in Shanghai on a study abroad program and it seemed like at least once a week fireworks were going off in the local neighborhoods . In Japan , fireworks got their start on Mainland in the 1500s with the introduction of guns and gun powder . The early fireworks created by the gun powder eventually evolved into something a bit less primitive and turned into a form of summer entertainment . Sound familiar ? Fireworks makers in Japan began honing their skills , using different chemicals to create different fireworks ; fireworks with colors that would rival those of today . Japan even claims the oldest recorded fireworks factories . In the 1800s , each would put on rival shows in an attempt to see who could impress the crowds more .
Some say that the love for fireworks in Japan is similar to their love for the fleeting beauty of cherry blossoms . The brief moments of excitement add to the appeal , creating an urgency to genuinely enjoy them when given the chance .
What a fantastic mesh of cultures we have here on Okinawa – we are able to enjoy something that ’ s part of both cultures . Who knew fireworks could bridge divides ?
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