How to make firecrackers exciting

shun lee hung firecrackers

It’s the most popular firecrackers around. Shun Lee Hung firecrackers. The yellow boxes of Chinese firecrackers that goes for RM 15 each. You can’t go wrong with these…but then again it’s helluva boring to wait for the tiny plinks and plonks while the 3,000 individual firecrackers go off.

…so how do we spice it up?

Just open the box, drag the first strip out as a β€œfuse” and keep the rest in the box.

Don’t hang it up.

LIGHT IT UP!

popular chinese firecrackers

Imagine the stacked firecrackers going off all at once. It’s fast. It’s furious. It’s fun.

I only let off Chinese firecrackers on:

  • Chinese New Year Eve before reunion dinner
  • Chinese New Year 12:00 midnight
  • Chinese New Year 1st day before you head out in the morning for family visitations

Of course, there are many times you can actually do that, those are just three personal *musts*.

The acrid smell just reminds me of childhood. It’s a connection to the past.

Yes, there is commentary from my extended family. This was taken at my grandma’s place. It’s part of Chinese New Year. πŸ™‚

Optional: You can pick up the banner with *insert prosperous couplet* (that I can’t read) and hang it on your gate if you want.

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24 thoughts on “How to make firecrackers exciting”

  1. I used to play with firecrackers when I was younger. Would ‘combine’ three to four types of firecracker and light them up at once. I remember bombing the neighbour’s drain in Sitiawan, causing a huge mess in his compound and on his cars. Some more 1st day of CNY…he couldn’t clean the house. πŸ˜›

    Reply
    • I still love playing with them! πŸ™‚

      It reminds me of my childhood when I was 4-6 (definitely younger than 7 coz I moved to Sibu from Kuching when I was 7) and my dad taught me how to play sparklers.

      It’s the smell, nostalgic!

      I tried that a couple of times, very unpredictable if you put in the larger firecrackers into those Chinese firecrackers – they blow up and send the next one flying God knows where – it certainly is fun, but not something to do with kids around (my 2 year old niece is here). πŸ˜€

      Happy CNY! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  2. Hi bro,

    Let me tell you how i played. Split the firecrackers and then put one of them under a tin can. Lit it up and boom! you get a flying can and it will fall anywhere. It hits my mom once and the rest is history.

    Happy Chinese New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai to you and your family!!

    Wilson Ng
    PlacesandFoods.com

    Reply
    • I tried that with a Milo can and we dropped several large firecrackers into it before slamming the lid down.

      …all it did was send the lid flying (and yes, the can of course)

      I expected it to blow up, sending shards of metal everywhere, but the rule of explosions is path of least resistance.

      It’s much more impressive if you drop large firecrackers into a tin can and bury it upside down (lid facing downwards) into a hole you dug into the ground. πŸ˜‰

      Happy CNY bro! πŸ˜€

      Reply
    • Haha! Okay, I lit the firecrackers and went to get the digicam from my dad (who was holding it for me).

      Unfortunately, as I went there the shoes went off and I had to make a split second decision based on the burn rate coz when it reaches the stack – it goes *everywhere*. I was rendered temporarily deaf (not by these small ones), got one in my eye, fireworks cake exploded on the ground, got hit by a firecracker but yeah, it’s what happens, Chinese QC is crap, but still alive and unmaimed. Quite fun, but not as fun as the large one I let off on the 1st day.

      Now that is one impressive Chinese firecracker roll. Videos up soon. πŸ˜€

      Happy CNY! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  3. that’s the real stuff…have seen my neighbours lighting up some really noisy ones that i could hear from my apartment block…only to realise that they were battery operated loud plik plaks:P reckon we can’t do much living in condo:-(

    gong hei fatt choy!

    Reply
    • This is the most common firecrackers around. Cheap and they let it off coz if you don’t do it in a stack (like in the video) it actually lasts quite long and you can hold it in your hand and only get minor burns, blisters max.

      The *real* original Chinese firecrackers are large and coupled and it’s one helluva show. I’m putting up the video soon. Fun.

      Hey, I’ve heard of that but yeah, in Sibu, people don’t really use batt operated firecrackers.

      Happy CNY and Gong Xi Fatt Choy! πŸ˜€

      Reply
    • It’s actually less than 10 seconds. Haha!

      That’s why it’s fun to do it this way. Plus, it’s cheap, unlike the larger original old skool Chinese fireworks.

      The rest of the video is just random crap – from the time I lit it – fuse quite long coz I had to grab the cam from my dad to the end, it’s less than 10 secs. It’s about that long unless you drop a cigarette or sparklers right into the middle of it, then the entire shebang goes up in less than 5. πŸ˜€

      Reply
    • Happy CNY! πŸ™‚

      May the Year of the Dragon be good to you. πŸ˜€

      Erm, I don’t know any good wishes so that’s the best I can do. Haha!

      Reply
  4. Hahaha, I do the same. That is…IF the string of firecrackers doesn’t already end with a volley of firecrackers (like e.g. Horse Brand). However, I won’t even think of holding it after lighting the fuse. Either your firecrackers aren’t that loud OR you’re a bit crazy. Possibly both πŸ˜‰ Hahaha!

    Check this one as an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQriRuXyH9c

    Reply
    • I guess I’ve been playing with it for a long time so I can get kinda careless. *shrugs

      I like for for the LSH ones to actually *start* exploding and getting the first few around me before I let it go. It’s a bit of a adrenaline rush, a minor one, but we get it where we can. πŸ˜‰

      I do it coz I like the smoke, sound and the pieces of paper and random crap getting all over me. I like the acrid smoke. I like the sonic assault. I like being in the thick of it. πŸ˜€

      Nice video mate! That’s like the one I let off on the 1st day.

      It *starts* with a volley, a pair of large and small (the “small” I’m referring to is 4-6 times the size of this firecracker) above and below and ends with an encore.

      I didn’t hold that in my hand after I lit the fuse. I tried once with the Horse Brand and it got into my face and it’s quite dangerous coz I can feel some explode past me. It won’t hurt me…unless it hits my eye or something…but that’s part of the fun! πŸ˜€

      I like to feel / see stuff going *past* me – can’t achieve it with the SLH, but with the bigger Chinese firecrackers, you can if you stand close.

      Happy CNY Maurice! πŸ™‚

      Reply
    • Eh? This is the most common kind – a 3,000 string of small firecrackers.

      The one that I let off during CNY 1st day was really impressive. Now that’s a *real* Chinese firecracker string – old skool, loud and totally fun.

      Happy CNY Eiling! πŸ™‚

      Reply
    • Yeah, I remember those! My dad and uncles and granddad (when he was still alive) used to play them back at the old place during CNY eve.

      Such memories. πŸ˜€

      Reply
    • I don’t sell fireworks. Sorry!

      There are plenty of places who does it openly in Sibu though – you’ll have no problems finding them.

      Hope that helps! πŸ™‚

      Reply

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