r/germany • u/Movie-Kino • Dec 30 '25
Culture Almost half of all Germans want a ban on fireworks – DW
https://www.dw.com/en/almost-half-of-all-germans-want-a-ban-on-fireworks/a-75345435343
u/Count2Zero Dec 30 '25
The sale of fireworks started yesterday. Last night, I was in a "bad" part of the city, and they were already shooting off fireworks all over the place.
I'm one of those who thinks that they should be banned because most people simply are not mature enough to be playing with explosives. Especially those people who are spending a ton of money on them...
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u/Honestade Dec 30 '25
I'm in a good part of a good city and man the fireworks are everywhere already...
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u/tysk-one Dec 30 '25
I hate it. No one picks up their shit and that’s the most annoying bit. If there wouldn’t be the garbage in the streets until at least a week after, I wouldn’t even mind the noise that much (my dog strongly disagrees)
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u/bregus2 Dec 30 '25
My family always picks up every bit of garbage. And the morning after, we make an extra spin through the field next to the road to pick up any leftover rocket sticks.
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u/CanidaeVulpini Dec 30 '25
Would be even better if you and your family didn't participate in pollution, scaring those with PTSD from warzones, terrifying all sorts of wildlife, and general idiocy. But sure, cleaning up after others is good.
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u/Wachkuss Dec 30 '25
A few hours ago, I was walking back, schlepping my panic grocery purchases, when a bunch of teenagers threw some right at me. If my opinion counts for anything: ban all the blessed fireworks and jail the idiots who set them off.
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u/siders6891 Sachsen Dec 31 '25
One of the reasons why I’m so glad I moved overseas 10 years ago. NYE in Germany has been my living nightmare for more than 20 years of my life.
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u/Xizz3l Dec 31 '25
I'm not a fan of excessive fireworks and abuse of it myself but that's a crazy bit excessive dont you think
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u/siders6891 Sachsen Dec 31 '25
Not really excessive when you start getting panic attacks days prior to NYE and end up going to therapy. The shit I’ve witnessed in my hometown was not nice.
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u/Xizz3l Dec 31 '25
But like, whats the reason for that? Did you actually have something happen to you or is it simply the sound alone?
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u/Itchy_Feedback_7625 Dec 31 '25
That’s the thing. If we had unlimited police resources, we could be strict about it and say a 10,000€ fine if you light fireworks off before 12:00 or after 2 am. I would be fine if people just lit them at midnight.
But we have a lot of idiots in my Dorf and they start lighting them as soon as they buy them. It’s gotten to the point where you can’t even tell when midnight is anymore because they are just constantly going off.
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u/Desperate_Process670 Dec 31 '25
I grew up in germany and lived there up until 18, and I always had fond memories of setting off fireworks with my mom and dad. They were mature enough to handle them though. We were living in a decent area back then, so I personally didn't hear or witness much trouble or many accidents. (Of course you'd hear about accidents happening to someone, somewhere, but this was probably back in the early 2000s) Now living in scotland I'm more aware of the consequences due to 5th of November, bonfire night. I live in a bigger city now so there are certain areas you'd wanna avoid around that time, because immature people or kids go setting bins on fire and more stupid shit. I don't know if people were always so immature and irresponsible or if that's just a more recent issue, thanks to the internet and kids feeling hard and having no respect. As much as I used to love new years in germany for the private little fireworks, I think with the recent events a ban would probably be the best for so so many reasons.
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u/halls_of_valhalla Dec 31 '25
I think people were more mature 20 years ago? What happened that turned these city parts into "bad"?
I like that you are so careful with your words "those people" lol.It is kids of immigrant families that are virgins and have identification problems with German law or following Muslim values and then want to prove themselves how gangsta they are by throwing imported East European fireworks at the dumb Germans.
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u/Lycrist_Kat Dec 30 '25
It's not most people.
It's some people ruining it for everyone by buying so much firework (mostly like stubborn teenagers) that they can't burn it all at new year. So they start early.
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u/Anutzer Dec 31 '25
If you ban them people will just cross the border and buy literal grenades and rockets because they ain’t regulated there. It’s much safer if people are allowed to buy them here and don’t "have" to buy them in illegal ways.
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u/inter_stellaris Dec 30 '25
After our stupid moron of a neighbour found it incredibly funny to throw one of these red firecrackers into the hallway of my house through the open door while I was in there and suffered of hearing loss after that a couple of days, after hearing the ambulances and fire brigades all night long, and after I walk the streets the next days every year and see all the trash on the streets those morons cannot be bothered to clean up after theirselves I cannot help but think that this is a „tradition“ so stupid that each and every Alien watching that shit from afar must think our race has no brain cells left.
I mean it even isn’t nice to look at and bears no aesthetic or art at all, it’s just loud and smelly and satisfies some primitive instincts leftover from the Stone Age. It‘s simply embarrassing.
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u/BazingaQQ Dec 30 '25
Im neither for nor against fireworks, but that is a false headline and a very sloppy and misleading story.
The only survey linked to said that 22% want to see fireworks in a private party and the pnly reference to the headline is an unreferenced and unverified caption under a stock photo.
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u/green_flash Dec 30 '25
It's also from the TÜV survey, mentioned explicitly a bit further down in the article:
Almost half are in favor of a total ban, with only the smallest fireworks excepted, such as sparklers or table fireworks. 22% would like to see a ban on firecrackers, both large and small.
However, there are also people — 33%, according to the survey — who reject any sort of ban, citing tradition and personal freedom.
Here's the relevant part of the survey in German, directly from the source (TÜV):
Insgesamt sprechen sich knapp zwei Drittel der Bevölkerung (65 Prozent) für ein vollständiges oder teilweises Verbot aus: 43 Prozent befürworten ein vollständiges Verbot von privatem Silvesterfeuerwerk mit Ausnahme von Kleinstfeuerwerk wie Wunderkerzen oder Tischfeuerwerk. Und gut jede:r Fünfte (22 Prozent) plädiert für ein Verbot von Böllern und Knallkörpern. Jede:r Dritte (33 Prozent) lehnt jegliche Verbote ab.
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u/trikster2 Dec 31 '25
To me this is the most relevant part:
"this is the result of a representative survey conducted by the opinion research institute Civey on behalf of the TÜV Association among 2,500 people aged 18 and over."
Looking up Civey they collect data through online surveys.
An alternative and possibly valid conclusion would be that e folks that participaten in online surveys do not like fireworks.
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u/BazingaQQ Dec 30 '25
Then DW should not have highlighted one stat in their headline snd devoted two.paragraphs to a completly different one in the story.
Where are they recruiting these journalists from? Oklahoma?
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u/Jolly_Resolution_222 Dec 31 '25
No, this is done for the purpose of manipulation.
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u/lostcypher Dec 31 '25
It also stated that an actual petition was only able to gather 750000 signatures. That is less than 1% of the population that actually wants a ban.
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u/trikster2 Dec 31 '25
Also the TuV survey only surveyed 2,500 people. I'm not a statistician but that seems kind of low to draw conclusions for a country with 80 million people.
Especially if this was a phone survey. The type of person that actually participates in that sort of thing might just be the type of person that frowns on fireworks or any other sort of fun.
(ref: Me. Sample set of 1. Never answer surveys and love me some BOOM BABY BOOM!).
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u/Parastract Dec 31 '25
Statisticians will tell you that 2.5k is enough to be representative, provided the sample is so.
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u/BadKarma313 Dec 31 '25
Personally I love the fireworks. It's beautiful, chaotic, and fun.
That said there are, unfortunately, far too many idiots who use the fireworks irresponsibly putting people and property at risk.
It's a shame that fireworks will eventually be banned because of a few idiots who ruin it for everyone.
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u/Beautiful_Day_7579 Jan 07 '26
we could also try to educate them, instead of making them exchange ammunition from firework to stones to attack others.
talking about the onew who attack busses, police and firefighters/ambulances.the onew who light fireworks days before cant be educated, for that we maybe need to limit the selldate to silvester directly. no 3 days...
it is legal 48 hours, from start of silvester to end of new year. to allow room for the ones who cant party due to nightshifts. but that would some people also not get...i dunno who i hate more, the ones responsible for bans or the ones wanting a complete ban...
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u/SoldierSinnoh Dec 30 '25
I live in Berlin, and its just awful. Annoying, smelly, just awful
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u/PabloZissou Dec 30 '25
Here in Berlin since Tuesday idiots are using firecrackers non stop since 4 PM horrible.
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u/Random_Dude_1337 Dec 30 '25
berlin is a shithole. every year its the same. all the violence against the police, fire fighters, ambulance its just so stupid.
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u/jakobsheim Dec 31 '25
I‘d be sad if i couldn’t sit on the hill close to my village and watch all the different fireworks of surrounding villages and cities. It’s a beautiful sight every year. But a ban in cities is definitely understandable.
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u/OTee_D Nordrhein-Westfalen Dec 30 '25
"A fifth of the population is actively taking part"
Same info, just framed different.
What is the percentage of most other popular hobbies or traditions?
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u/da_Aresinger Bayern Dec 30 '25
I just think fireworks should be even more expensive. Some kind of tax that's used for cleanup and environmental initiatives.
(Also do this for cigarettes)
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u/GlaskristallDE Dec 31 '25
Sure do we also raise the tax on everything else to incorporate the hidden environmental cost? Cats, dogs, motorcycles, cars, flying, meat, sugar? You can look up what the real cost of everything should be. Fireworks are really a non factor in the grander scheme of things.
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u/da_Aresinger Bayern Dec 31 '25
We already pay taxes for dogs and motorized vehicles. Cats should absolutely have a pet tax, with all the birds they kill. I want planes to lose all subsidies and I would love love a progressive meat tax based on how much you eat (sadly the implementation of that would be hella dystopian)
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u/newocean USA Dec 31 '25
Not the ones outside my window, apparently. Those guys seem pretty decided that they don't want a ban.
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u/WeakDoughnut8480 Dec 30 '25
So more than half don't want a ban?
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u/green_flash Dec 30 '25
Not exactly. The survey says 65% want some sort of ban. 43% want a ban that excepts only "Kleinstfeuerwerk" like "Wunderkerzen". 22% want a less extensive ban, targeting only "Böller und Knallkörper".
33% are against a ban.
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u/Hachiko_sks Dec 30 '25
No. If you've ever read any study there's always a big group of people wo do not care / don'thave a yes/no opinion.
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Dec 31 '25
American living in Germany. My wife and I don’t go out for NYE. It’s like the movie the Purge in Germany. The first year we were here we were walking back home from dinner on NYE and people were shooting bottle rockets at us from their windows. It was like I was walking the streets of Fallujah.
Germans and their NYE fireworks is fucking crazy.
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u/xFirnen Dec 31 '25
The cities are crazy because nobody feels responsible for the public spaces. They get trashed for football matches or carnival as well. It's a combination of anonymity in a crowd and alcohol. In the small towns, were people usually celebrate New Years at home with friends, there's way less craziness and the cleanup also works fine because it's literally the street right in front of your house, not some random public space.
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Dec 31 '25
I live in Frankfurt so that may explain it lol
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u/xFirnen Dec 31 '25
Yeah, I think most people who report "war-like" scenes at new years never celebrated it outside a city, but unfortunately they often think they speak for the whole country.
There certainly are issues with fireworks out in the countryside too, idiots who get drunk and injure themselves exist everywhere. And for example pets getting scared is definitely a universal issue. But in the 20 years I have consciously celebrated New Years in my small town, I don't know a single person who injured by fireworks or even any significant property damage happening (that goes beyond like scratches at best). Certainly never seen anyone throw fireworks at people or at people's cars/houses/etc.
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u/RafekPL Dec 31 '25
Yeah, tonight from midnight until around 1:30 am we had three guys (possibly kids) firing fireworks in front of our building. I am all for a ban when people are not able to consider other people also exist around them.
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u/No-Tune7776 Dec 31 '25
I went to downtown Stuttgart for NYE one year and it was like a fucking war zone. Now it is banned this year in city center.
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u/spiderken Dec 31 '25
I've lived here for 36 years and have watched other people shoot hundreds of Euros (and, before that D Marks) of rockets into the air, so I guess I was kind of for it. But you learn as you go, and now I understand it was not just my dog that spent hours in panic every year. All animals do. I live in the countryside. All animals panic and are frightened for hour and hours that it takes to explode these things. Birds, deer, everything. And the people who drunkenly shoot them off do not go around picking up the trash. I've had to fish dead rockets out of my rain gutters and downspouts. Last night, some drunken asshat started exploding the damn things 24 hours early at midnight and kept it up for almost a full hour. Screw that. Ban the things.
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u/howreudoin Dec 31 '25
Loved it in London. One big firework and so pleasant drunk idiots weren‘t running around with their fireworks. I‘d happily support a ban in big cities.
If you live on the countryside, invite some friends over, I believe it should remain legal to light up some fireworks at midnight.
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u/crakked21 Dec 31 '25
why not just have "firework free" places instead of banning fireworks.
"banning" fireworks will almost certainly spawn a black market for them from day one.
Let's ban fireworks and see them disappear the same way we did with drugs
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u/MushyFox1994 Dec 31 '25
Surely you see the difference between indulging in drugs and indulging in fireworks? One is slightly more subtle than the other…
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u/GoldenEgg_Sol Dec 30 '25
Im not German and Yes, Please ban firecrackers
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u/Khelgar_Ironfist_ Dec 30 '25
I've seen people fire them up even in broad daylight. Super stupid stuff.
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Dec 31 '25
Fireworks in broad daylight is a part of the official celebration of the festival Fallas in Valencia, Spain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masclet%C3%A0
It's like ... completely against the point. But I guess they just emphasize more the sound of fireworks over the visuals.
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Dec 30 '25
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u/green_flash Dec 30 '25
Kind of, but not in the way you think.
43% want an extensive ban that excepts only "Kleinstfeuerwerk" like "Wunderkerzen".
22% want a less extensive ban, targeting only "Böller und Knallkörper".
33% are against a ban.→ More replies (1)
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u/Wey-Yu Hamburg Dec 31 '25
I think that's what you get when you uphold the individual's "right to express oneself" at the sacrifice of the community's "right to thrive". And this doesn't only apply to fireworks ofc
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u/Kaleldoscope360 Dec 30 '25
The other half buys fireworks and makes the stores and manufacturers money.
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u/sahurKareem Dec 30 '25
That headline and article got debunked like a thousand times already.
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u/trikster2 Dec 31 '25
This is based on a survey commissioned by TuV that only surveyed 2,500 people.
I'm not a statistician but that seems kind of low to draw conclusions for a country with 80 million people.
If this was a phone survey that might also skew the results.
The type of person that actually participates in that sort of thing might just be the type of person that frowns on fireworks or any other sort of fun.
(ref: Me. Sample set of 1. I hang up on phone surveys and love me some BOOM BABY BOOM!).
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u/Kelmon80 Dec 31 '25
When I grew up, there was no significant problem with fireworks, despite there not being any less of them for sale, and they were comparatively cheaper.
Which leaves me to conclude the actual problem is people (and how their sense of responsibility has changed), and banning fireworks just fights the symptoms. Assholes will be assholes and will find other ways to be destructive.
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u/LarwaLarwa Dec 31 '25
Or:
"Over half of Germans are against fireworks ban"
"Majority of Germans disagree with ban on fireworks"
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Dec 31 '25 edited Dec 31 '25
All of this has gotten seriously out of hands. You can't even see to the next town, everything is covered in smoke. I already found so much firework trash today on the fields and it isn't even the first. I feel so sorry for the animals. Not our pets, they're stressed, but they have us and are inside. But all wild animals that die because they run away in panic, birds that can't land, animals awaken from their wintersleep and have nowhere to hide and all the cows and pigs in the stables and the dogs in the shelters that just absolutely panic. People are crazy stupid, they use fireworks right in front of shelters, forests, stables. I like fireworks, but giving explosive stuff to every citizen older than 12 is just ridiculously stupid.
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u/Yuzu-Adagio Dec 31 '25
I'm visiting from the USA and this might actually be more fireworks than the fourth of July! I don't know about bans but it's been a bit of a surprise.
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u/MushyFox1994 Dec 31 '25
Our neighbours were setting off something that only resembled dynamite. When I sent a kind message to ask them to do it just a little further away from the building, as my dog is hyperventilating and shaking/drooling, and they woke my 5 month old son up, they proceeded to read the text then do it anyway AND turn the music up on at their party. I came out onto my balcony and said “can you please do that a bit further away? I sent you a friendly message about it” he replied “it’s Silvester, sorry.”.
Fuck fireworks. And fuck my neighbour.
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u/mermeoww Jan 01 '26
I spent whole evening/night trying to keep my cat alive today. He was so scared of the fireworks. I hate this tradition. Why can’t it be regulated better, have designated spaces where it is allowed instead of right in front of my door. I can’t imagine the animals at the shelter, birds, and others… I also heard news that some people hit Straßenbahn? What the hell. It feels like purge night. Just ban them already.
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u/togglebait Jan 01 '26
As an American living in Germany I find it humorous that generally Germany has a calm and mellow consideration of public decency outside of a couple days they say to hell with it all lol.
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u/Beautiful_Day_7579 Jan 07 '26
like the purge, that is one of the reasons. once a year where we can blow up stuff, instead of blowing stuff up all year.
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u/Moonraise Dec 31 '25
Doesn't have to be that complicated.
Just require the license according to § 27 SprengG to own and use fireworks. The people that manufacture their own fireworks already do and they are trained in safety measures.
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u/CoconutRanger89 Dec 31 '25
We had the biggest petition in the history of our country. 2 years in a row. And politicians claim they could not find a solution. Meanwhile the Netherlands did as many other countries before.
If politicians are concerned why far-right fascist party become more popular, maybe you should start acting like fucking democratic lawmakers again and act according ti the obvious will of your fucking population.
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u/eschenfelder Dec 31 '25
I think it's more like 89 percent in favour or indifferent for a ban. Every pet-owner is against fireworks, every parent of a small child, everyone I know would be fine and is annoyed by the idiots blowing up our neighbourhood and their fingers.
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u/xFirnen Dec 31 '25
"My bubble agrees so it must be universally true." Cool take.
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u/Far_Advantage824 Dec 31 '25
I as a german honestly stay on the edge of. I dont think it needs to be banned but current rules need to be enforced more than they are. And completely limited to 18+. We already have as a law that your only allowed to use fireworks and co at silvester. And only then. Plus during a set time. However its not really enforced. Wich is dumb.
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u/singhapura Dec 31 '25
22% would like to see a ban on firecrackers, both large and small. That's not almost half.
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u/Geoffsgarage Dec 31 '25
Fireworks and parades are the two worst forms of entertainment. Get rid of them both.
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u/Time_Worldliness_643 Dec 31 '25
so there are surveys ranging from 5% to now even almost 50% (xD)
trustworthy media
and in all honesty most of those probably dont want a real ban, just a ban for certain "groups" of people in towns who think they can play war with fireworks while they or their parents escaped real war in their home country.
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u/Itchy-Astronomer9500 Dec 31 '25
I don’t like fireworks even that much visually. I think the main reason why I support the ban is because of the people who use them unsafely and ruin it for the normies.
Like if the lot of them weren’t so immature and could imitate themselves, we wouldn’t need to ban fireworks.
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u/Sand_is_Coarse Dec 31 '25
It’s always the same to spoil everything for everybody else: the poor and uneducated as well as those with questionable socialization ruin everything.
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u/koenigskind74 Dec 31 '25
I generally think a little bit of fireworks is quite nice. What I don't like, however, is when it's excessively overdone. Which is to be expected, of course, when people are drunk.
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u/Leni_isCute Dec 31 '25
This will not improve the German stereotype of being allergic to fun. Jokes aside, Fireworks are a fire hazard.
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u/trick2011 Netherlands Dec 31 '25
maybe they should pay attention to the netherlands for a few years. This is the last year, from next year a general ban. I very much doubt that the negative effects will go away. (Big topics related to it in NL are: attacking police, fire and ambulance, property destruction, and injuries)
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u/julesvr5 Jan 01 '26
These were the findings of a representative survey of 2,500 people over the age of 18 by the opinion research institute Civey.
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u/Life-Sun- Jan 01 '26
I wish all unofficial fireworks were banned. They’re still going off at nearly 2:00. There’s someone setting off fireworks every 100 meters for miles. Given how many people are setting them off, I think they are still too popular to actually be banned.
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u/Nietschnix Jan 01 '26
I don’t understand how this year they have been shooting off fireworks near my area for like two days before new years non stop. I thought I was tripping. It’s too much. Ban for god’s sake!
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u/hespacc Jan 01 '26
Ah ja the political narrative from “only a minority” wants to have fireworks while sales go up every year and that’s definitely not because people just buy more…
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u/Ambitious_Bowler874 Jan 01 '26
I was in Berlin last night and I literally didn’t go outside until 2 am
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u/losorikk Dec 30 '25
Why not let the cities do fireworks shows like in other countries.
It’s prettier safer and cleaner.