Don't Twirl Your Sparklers!!

Fireworks, they are apart of summer. Every year as a child, my family would allow me to play with all kinds of fireworks. (Maybe it wasn't the best ides...Haha...) Plus, we would always do the fireworks that explode in the sky, as a family. Many of my friends families were the same way.

Needless to say, the first summer I spent in Japan, I was very excited to participate in the fireworks! I was staying with a host family at the time! One night, my host mom suggested we do fireworks. My host siblings and I all got very excited! (They were 4,6, and 8 at the time.) We bought a pack of fireworks from the store and headed off to the park!

This was not the exact same pack, but it was essentially the same.

I was surprised to discover that the pack of "fireworks" was really just sparklers. Either way, I was still excited! My host siblings lit their sparklers first. They just stood still and held them. At the time I thought it was a bit strange. Then I got my sparkler and I started drawing shapes and twirling it around like I always do back in the States. 

My host mom looked at me in horror!

I was so confused! I asked her what was wrong and she informed me that in Japan people don't typically do that... Whoops! Boy was I confused and embarrassed! For a while I wondered if it was just her family. 

Fireworks season has fallen upon us again so I decided to ask my friends about it. They explained that Japanese families mostly just do sparklers at home. And that like my host mother said, they just hold their sparklers still. 

If you are in Japan, remember: don't move your sparklers!

What is your experience with fireworks in Japan?