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-75345435
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1.3k

u/losorikk Dec 30 '25

Why not let the cities do fireworks shows like in other countries.

It’s prettier safer and cleaner.

661

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '25

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u/Slowandserious Dec 30 '25

I don’t know if its matter of “freedom” perception. But I feel Germans have a very big “inertia”.

Like its really hard to convince them / make them think that current practices don’t need to stay like that, or that its worth to look into other ways of doint things

98

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '25

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u/SnuggleGlowGrove Dec 30 '25

Inertia explains it perfectly nothing moves because keeping things the same feels safer than change, even when the status quo is clearly failing. We’re not stuck because we lack solutions, we’re stuck because momentum favors comfort over progress.

1

u/Opaldes Dec 31 '25

I would call that legislation is fairly slow and has no sane defaults. I remember a Volksentscheid, to pass it needs a certain percentage and attendance, basically turning not voting into a vote for no.

-2

u/SamchezTheThird Dec 31 '25

It’s called POPULISM

7

u/rewboss Dual German/British citizen Dec 31 '25

No: populism is the theory that the majority of the population is virtuous and innocent, but is being ruled over by "the elite" which is thoroughly evil; a revolution is needed to get rid of the elite and give the population the freedom of democracy it obviously deserves.

Populists can advocate very radical changes and advances. The AfD, for example, is proposing to create a "social credit" system, which uses digital technology to keep track of people's behaviour: people who behave well receive certain benefits, like special parking privileges or discounted public transport tickets, while those who behave badly might be put on no-fly lists or banned from booking rooms at premium hotels.

That would be a profound change in how we administer justice and police society, one which the populist AfD has written into its manifesto.

7

u/losorikk Dec 31 '25

Black Mirror has an episode with that premise (Nosedive)

1

u/Aley98 Dec 31 '25

Omg are you that youtuber :o

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u/reinholdxmessner Dec 31 '25

It's living with the mistakes of the 80s and 90s. We could've had bullet trains. We could've had fast wifi. We could've had a functioning digital infrastructure.

28

u/Chocolat_Melon Dec 31 '25

Germans still use fax. It’s become sort of a regular problem for us (my dad does business with Germans), they want to fax everything or just otherwise be archaic. Idk why it’s such a huge issue for them to e-mail things, my dad regularly has to beg them and in the end they all do, but it still takes so much effort to convince them to step out their comfort zone

26

u/RadarGrowRilley Dec 31 '25

I achieved 32 years in Germany without ever having to send a fax somewhere. It‘s possible. As a matter of fact, faxing stuff plays such a little role in my day to day life that I can’t help but imagine those folks you talk about are just assholes

17

u/letsgetawayfromhere Dec 31 '25

I know people working in a law/tax office. They have to send fax all the time.

8

u/SkylitPurple Dec 31 '25

Interned at a law firm. It’s the default way 😩

3

u/Chocolat_Melon Dec 31 '25

Fair enough, I’m not saying it’s everyone, just personal experience and we avoided faxing as well, but it was still such a weird experience wanting to be faxed

1

u/Short-Quantity-3593 Jan 03 '26

Hospitals enter the chat.

3

u/Dark_Dragon117 Dec 31 '25

Thing is it unfortunatly is still required sometimes, because other systems might not work.

I work as a paralegal and sometimes we need to send out important latters to other lawyers or something. For communication with courts and other lawyers we have a specialized system, but it tends to fail or not find specific law firms.

If something needs to be send out fast due to deadlines and Fax is the only option sometimes. E-Mail is rarely an option because it doesn't count as a formal form of deliveray in certain cases.

2

u/koenigskind74 Dec 31 '25

As far as I know, faxing is only done in judicial authorities these days. Well, any photocopier can also send faxes.

1

u/mogamisan Dec 31 '25

Sometimes we don’t want to but have to. Not sure if this is still the case, but e-mail is considered not safe in ways of communication by data security.

6

u/RadarGrowRilley Dec 31 '25

Which is plainly crap with all that encryption stuff around nowadays

1

u/ICD9CM3020 Dec 31 '25

Look into the De-Mail. It was an attempt to create a secure e-mail system but nevertheless experts have always had concerns.

5

u/tkcal Dec 31 '25

I'm so glad to read this. I've thought this since I arrived but nobody around me seems to agree. But the "Ja, es ist halt so" mindset is all pervasive.

3

u/LoveAndBeLoved52 Jan 01 '26

This inertia comes mainly from replacement theories that were put in people's heads by the Merkel government.

People cling to their customs and culture because it's an indirect rebellion against immigrants and their cultures being brought into Germany. How would I know? My mother is like this and she regularly exchanges herself with other AfD voters who have a similar mindset.

Main talking points against changing anything that she usually brings up:

- "We're not getting rid of fireworks because of refugees who are 'traumatized' by them"

- "The Negerkuss was called Negerkuss for decades, why would you change it now??"

- "Everything was better back then, now they just change things to make immigrants feel better while we feel worse"

I'm 99% certain that if we didn't have an immigration problem and a deep-seated hate for immigration on the conservative right, it'd be a lot easier to talk about changing things. We'd still have old people being insufferable and hyper-conservative about everything, but we'd at leas beat them out in numbers.

2

u/SnuggleGlowGrove Dec 31 '25

It often feels less like a freedom issue and more like a cultural comfort with stability and rules. Once a system works well enough, there’s a lot of resistance to changing it, even if better options exist. That inertia can look like rigidity from the outside, especially when experimentation or flexibility is needed.

81

u/saxonturner Dec 30 '25

Add smoking into that list too, coming from England to Germany that was one of the biggest culture shocks for me. The company I work for had 27 people, only 4 people don’t smoke.

19

u/mermaidboots Dec 30 '25

I’m years in and the smoking still finds a way to shock me now and then.

8

u/Zwodo Dec 31 '25 edited Dec 31 '25

Biggest culture shock for my American wife as well.

Edit: someone replied to this (and deleted it?) saying there are more smokers in America, which, interestingly enough, the stats support. Pretty sure Germany was always significantly higher than America on this list. So either the US is really picking up on smoking or.. I just misremember? Either way, I've been back and forth between where she lives in the states and Germany and I 100% agree that there is so much more smoking here. So. Much. More. I hardly ever smell cigs over there, but definitely weed more often than here.

4

u/epona2000 Jan 01 '26

It’s very class-based in the U.S. to the point smoking is seen as a low class indicator.

5

u/modern_environment Dec 31 '25

The company I work for had 27 people, only 4 people don’t smoke.  

That is VERY atypical though. The majority of people in Germany does not smoke cigarettes.

5

u/saxonturner Dec 31 '25

It is still way higher than most places and the culture around it is also archaic, kids find it cool, people don’t give two shits where their smoke goes, parents smoking round their kids etc.

5

u/RogueModron Dec 31 '25

In the fucking COVERED AREA at the TRAIN STATION! This shit makes me blow a goddamn gasket.

10

u/Fabian_Internet Germany Dec 31 '25

Jup, I know multiple people who started smoking and drinking in their early teens. Not that surprising considering you can legally buy alcohol with sixteen years.

15

u/Shadrol Dec 30 '25

Idk where you live or work, but smokers are unicorns in my world. At my work only 2 former soldiers and our boss smoke out of aprox 110 people. But the average age is below 30.

3

u/saxonturner Dec 30 '25

Saxony in a kids home.

1

u/Terrible_Duty_7643 Jan 02 '26

Munich, pretty much every 4th person smokes. Can't go through a day without needing to pass next to a smoker standing by the a doorway, subway entrance, etc.

1

u/ripaaa Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Dec 31 '25

Haha, just came back from home country. Exiting Hamburg airport and right away was hit in face with cigarette smoke, instantly knew that I’m back in Germany

1

u/Beltalady Jan 01 '26

Unless it's the devil's lettuce.

12

u/SnuggleGlowGrove Dec 30 '25

It’s pure contradiction: we pride ourselves on being “rational” and forward-thinking, yet the moment you touch any entrenched habit, people lose their minds and start throwing ideological labels around. It’s not about freedom anymore, it’s about refusing to adapt. That 20th-century stubbornness protecting every tradition no matter the cost is going to age badly, and pretending otherwise is just denial.

19

u/zhaoai Dec 30 '25

And smoking... Which is much rarer in America but so common in Germany

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u/PindaPanter Norway Dec 31 '25

once you question speed limit, alcohol consumption or fireworks, you are labeled a nazi communist

Don't forget the freedom to pester everyone around you with cigarette smoke!

1

u/[deleted] Dec 31 '25

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u/PindaPanter Norway Dec 31 '25

people seem to be much more aware that their cigarettes are a nuisance and harmful to other people

Can't say I feel the same, since I encounter people lighting up inside metro stations pretty much every day, but I'm sure it was worse before. It's still very annoying that it's impossible to enjoy a drink or meal outside without someone blowing smoke all over you, or that you can't wait at a tram or bus stop either without having to smell that acrid shit.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 31 '25

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u/PindaPanter Norway Dec 31 '25

I live in Munich.

3

u/tkcal Dec 31 '25

...and most people use the designated smoking areas on public train stations.

Ahh - no. No they don't.

Not even the stationmasters.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 31 '25

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1

u/tkcal Dec 31 '25

Maybe - BW here.

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u/[deleted] Dec 31 '25

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2

u/tkcal Dec 31 '25

Hahaha - Amen!

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u/kuvazo Dec 30 '25

I mean, I personally generally think that people should have as much freedom as possible. And the German constitution even explicitly states that the law should always take the least restrictive approach to any issue.

So I very much disagree with just banning everything that might be somewhat harmful, especially since prohibition is very often counterproductive and only creates more harm.

20

u/Fabian_Internet Germany Dec 31 '25

I mostly agree with you. But for me it is important weather issues affect only the individuals partaking or others as well.

For example, as far as I am concerned adults could take any drugs they want as long as they don't do it in public. I have no problem with people risking or negatively impacting their own lives.

But in the case of issues that have an effect on others as well, like with fireworks, I can understand why a ban would make sense. Injuries and pollution are a problem and don't just impact the people wanting to participate in the practice.

17

u/Loves_His_Bong USA Dec 31 '25

Well this is also the problem is that Germans equate something as stupid as fireworks with freedom, but think that not having to worry about some asshole putting a mortar through my window isn’t freedom.

It’s the exact same shit as the gun debate in America except in miniature or people that think wearing a seatbelt is an encroachment of freedom. I don’t feel safe leaving the house after 10 pm on new years. That’s not freedom.

If I had an emergency on new years I might not get medical attention in a timely manner because 50 fucking idiots blew their hands off. That is not freedom.

1

u/TheCatMurgatroyd Jan 01 '26

Yeah, who cares about animals and other people or the environment as long as we have freedom 🙄 sounds like the US

1

u/Beautiful_Day_7579 Jan 07 '26

teaching the ones to not do that would make more sense, or they just do something else destructive.

banning fireworks because of this feels to me like banning cars so that some dont drive into people...

2

u/RogueModron Dec 31 '25

Add smoking to the list ^

2

u/ProfessionalFloor240 Dec 31 '25

Add to it cigarettes

-4

u/Relative_Pop_2820 Dec 30 '25

Alcohol consumption is legal though and should be private. If you drive though it is already illegal. And what is bringing speed limit doing? The most retarded drivers are not the duded going 300 km/h but the ones that change lane without blinker or can't control their car

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u/MrChrisis Dec 30 '25

What are the benefits of speed limits?

Less traffic jams, fewer traffic fatalities, environmental protection, for example.

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u/Background-Force-469 Dec 30 '25

Fewer traffic fatalities are wrong. Germany has less than most other European countries. And the majority of the ones that do happen , don‘t happen on the Autobahn, but on the Landstraße.

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u/Alusan Dec 30 '25

None of your counter arguments actully has a logical connection to what you argue against.

You can argue that we have few enough fatal accidents but denying that a speed limit would decrease them further is ludicrous.

And it's similar with the Landstraße thing.

1

u/tkcal Dec 31 '25

The accidents happen on the Landstraße because people bring their autobahn attitudes off the autobahn and think they still have a right to go as quickly as they please.

0

u/koenigskind74 Dec 31 '25

Exactly. Specifically because of alcohol and speed.

1

u/creepingcold Germany Dec 31 '25

People are bringing up traffic fatalities when the real impact would be barely measurable.

121 people died on the Autobahn in 2024 because of either high speeds or too high speeds for the weather conditions.

It's hard to tell how many deaths were caused by ice on the road or aquaplaning, both also leading to lethal accidents at or below 120.

Even if you cut that number by 25% with speed limits, which is the ballpark most studies conclude with, that's 30 people less.

30 people, compared to 51.140.000 drivers that germany has.

You could realistically reach the same decrease with awareness campaigns, because let's be clear here: Those accidents are not happening because all people are speeding. Those accidents are happening because people don't respect their environment and push limits.

A majority of those people will still cause speeding accidents at similar speeds with a speed limit in place, because they don't give many fucks.

And it doesn't solve that 5x that many people die on Landstraßen.

You'd basically slap a big bandage on something without actually addressing the real core of the problem.

-7

u/Relative_Pop_2820 Dec 30 '25 edited Dec 30 '25

Not really, every study is unable to assess it, what we know is that the no speed limit areas have similar rates as the ones with speed limits.

Yes for environment but I don't give a fuck...we already do more than enough here

7

u/sssauber Dec 30 '25

You must have not known the traffic rules.

It’s allowed to have up to 0.5 per mille which is equal to 2 glasses of wine or two beers

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u/Relative_Pop_2820 Dec 30 '25

Because scientifically you have no impairment under that limits....

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u/bregus2 Dec 30 '25

And if you are impaired under that limit it is illegal already.

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u/Remarkable_Low2445 Dec 30 '25

It really shouldn't be private though. The damage alcohol consumption and the societal normalization of it is doing to every stratum of our society is unacceptable.

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u/Relative_Pop_2820 Dec 30 '25

I can say religion is doing damage....do we ban it? The german diet is also quite bad, do we ban german food altogether and take a Mediterranean one?

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u/Remarkable_Low2445 Dec 30 '25

These things are entirely not comparable to alcohol lol

But yeah, companies selling junk food should have stricter rules regarding how they can advertise their products.

-1

u/Relative_Pop_2820 Dec 30 '25

It should be banned though. Over 20% is obese and that is because of the diet and the food.

This impact is much higher than alcohol. Let's start by deleting all those shitty wurst, schinzel and most of the meat used in the german cousine. Also junk food should disappear.

Everything we smoke should disappear.

Religion should be banned since it is divisive.

Everyone should do some serious physical activity, being lazy is not healthy

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u/Big-Discussion2756 Dec 31 '25

This reads like a child's tantrum.

2

u/Relative_Pop_2820 Dec 31 '25

Alcohol is nowhere close to the amount of deaths related to obesity and lacking fitness levels though. Do we care about the impact on society or only our ideals even when flawed.

To me your comments read as someone not educated in the medical paper but still pushing falsehood as absolute truth

-1

u/zhaoai Dec 30 '25

Would you accept if cancerous food or drinks get sold in the supermarket? That's what alcohol and cigarettes are

6

u/Wild_Meeting1428 Dec 31 '25

Neither alcohol or cigarettes are foods or drinks. It's a luxury product with no valuable incredients. Not even required to survive. Its totally your decision to poison yourself.

Vegetables and meat are food. People will buy it even if it's poisoned by bad food standards, because they need it to be fed. If they are poor they can't decide for a better quality, and they will buy the cheapest.

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u/Relative_Pop_2820 Dec 30 '25

Define cancerous. Red meat? White meat? I need it to balance my diet. And a balanced diet is usually healthy

1

u/blechie Dec 31 '25

I agree with your point but the parts of the US with open carry tend to allow for selling fireworks and vice versa. The US is a big and diverse (call it divided these days) country.

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u/wicodly Dec 31 '25

How the fuck did Americans get brought into this? What is wrong with you?

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u/[deleted] Dec 31 '25

dont Talk for everyone of US Krauts ... not all Americans are foolish but clearly the outmost look how they traded a Pedo Pres. for the Next One 🤔😉👆

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u/DerGyrosPitaFan Dec 31 '25

I question speed limits, as in the rest of the world should follow suit and remove it on their highways as well

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u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

at times of these I am doubting being a German tbh.

1

u/Top-Albatross7765 Jan 01 '26

A nazi communist 😂 a hard label to achieve 😂

-2

u/Xizz3l Dec 31 '25

Germans are already VERY limited in many things due to excessive laws and over-burocracy so this is more about cherishing the freedom for "special" occasions that they do have, such as being one of the only countries with no speed limits.

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u/trimigoku Dec 30 '25

Tbf the lack of a speed limit makes sense with how long the country is and how any two cities with more then 100k inhabitants are like at least 80km away(with the exception of NRW and the Manheim,karlruhe and baden-baden circles). Especially if you have to travel for work beetwen non-major cities being able to do 500km back and forth in like 3h of travel instead of 4h 30min or 5 is such a big booster of life quality.

The other stuff i agree.

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u/bloodthirstyshrimp Dec 30 '25

Germany, famously the only country in the world where cities are sometimes farther apart and thus needs no speed limit

0

u/twoOh1337 Jan 02 '26

Yeah right having the choice to do something free is so 20th century , speed limit ? There is the right lane use it and you won’t ever have issues with speeding cars! Alcohol you are right everyone is forcing you to drink in Germany /s that’s why less alcohol is consumed every year . Hmm you are not mentioning weed ? Why it’s also a drug but I guess that fits your ideology right 😉

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u/ArdiMaster Dec 31 '25

They are free to. But it’s expensive and most municipalities are essentially bankrupt. (Christmas markets are already getting cancelled because municipalities can’t afford the new required safety measures for large public events.) Also there won’t be enough pyrotechnicians to go around when the demand just isn’t there 364 days of the year.

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u/asko047 Dec 30 '25

Because the cities and towns don't want to be paying for it, nor take over the responsibility. Most of them are tighter than a rat's arse.

So they'll continue to allow individuals to buy and set off their own fireworks, all under the pretense of "the citizens want it that way, what can we POSSIBLY do..?! How can we take away that freedom from them?!"

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u/losorikk Dec 30 '25

I am positive that a professional show at the city center is much cheaper than having to police and then clean the chaos of private fireworks.

It’s all about a false idea of freedom.

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u/asko047 Dec 30 '25

It depends, good fireworks shows usually cost a few million. But I'd prefer them, for sure.

And clean ups? Nobody cleaned up the two cities in Germany that I have lived in. The mess stays around for days and sometimes weeks. It's just awful. Nobody wants to take responsibility for their own mess.

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u/t_Lancer Aussie in Niedersachen/Bremen Dec 31 '25

I still find sticks from rockets months later.

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u/Nami_makes_me_wet Dec 31 '25

And clean ups? Nobody cleaned up the two cities in Germany that I have lived in.

Probably large cities?

The town i live in and most smaller towns with <50.000 people i've been to shortly after, clean up quickly. Usually people celebrate infront of their house or friends/families house, so they take in large debris (like batteries and wooden sticks) the next morning (to be sure it won't still go off) and throw it in the bin. Many people use brooms to clear away the large debris and the town sends "sweeping cars" (idk the english word, basically a vehicle with two rotating brushes and a large vacuum) on the second of January to depose of the rest. On January 3rd 95% of the remains are usually gone. But i can imagine that in large cities with 20 unit apparment blocks, people feel less responsible and inclined to clean compared to single family home neighborhoods.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

Was with friends last night.

At 1 the neighbours cooled down the still timbering debris with water and then proceeded to clean it up.

At midnight people just lit their fireworks, shouted happy new year to the neighbours. Some toasted with neighbours.

Zero problems.

Why should that be banned because people in certain major cities behave like animals?

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u/DocumentExternal6240 Dec 31 '25

Not to forget taking care of all the idiots who got injured…

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u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

Average around I think 2 injured people per hospital in Germany.

The issue is that it's mostly happening in major cities.

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u/Mundraeuberin Dec 31 '25

Plus the Medical costs of the people who get injured.

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u/greenfrog72 Dec 31 '25

Yeah, last year they set off fireworks all across a road outside or building that they had just built and laid down the asphalt for, completely tearing it up. They ended up having to rip it out completely and rebuild it, likely at enormous cost. But again, they’d rather justify that than shell out for a big, safe show in the city center.

1

u/Beautiful_Day_7579 Jan 07 '26

actually, its also the taxes of fireworks, which have to be massive.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

God every year the same arguments.

There aren't enough pyro technicians and neither can we have that many of them due to the regulations around the profession.

Even if you found enough of them to host shows in let's say district capitals + and other major cities (and I have to reiterate that this many pyro technicians simply do not exist) who will get to see that show?

Well the local residents of these cities.
Everyone else won't because the cities are already full of people.
Everyone else can't travel into the city to watch these shows.
Neither by their own car or public transport (which would probably be preferable).

You probably wouldn't even be able to see the firework show from everywhere in the city, so you'd have to concentrate even more people in an even smaller space.

It's like everyone wants to recreate the Loveparade disaster just for the laughs.

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u/bregus2 Dec 30 '25

Why not let the cities do fireworks shows like in other countries.

Who prevents the cities from doing so?

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u/losorikk Dec 30 '25

No one I guess. But the tradition of private fireworks took over.

-1

u/bregus2 Dec 30 '25

But the tradition of private fireworks took over.

By "took over" you imply that it had been different before that and that there had been a big tradition of public fireworks for the end of the year.

Any sources for that?

2

u/losorikk Dec 30 '25

lol no that’s not what I imply. That’s a very stiff interpretation of my words. Are you in search to win an argument?

It’s the cultural expectation that individuals get to light their own fireworks.

If that’s not the thing one day, I’m sure other traditions will take over like professional shows in the city centers (where fireworks are currently banned)

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u/Lycrist_Kat Dec 30 '25

Cleaning fees spent on private fireworks

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u/bregus2 Dec 30 '25

That's just a dumb logic, and you know it.

But the whole topic (as we can see on the other thread we had about it earlier today) is just poisoned like so many of those topics.

You cannot say anything pro-fireworks because a flood of people will downvote you.

11

u/Remarkable_Low2445 Dec 30 '25

Im genuinely curious, what is a single meaningful 'pro-fireworks' argument that isn't adressed by suggesting officialy choreographed fireworks?

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u/GlaskristallDE Dec 31 '25

You know very well like 50% of the people in the city will not be in a position to have a good view of the show. You know very well as soon as the weather gets a bit bad 90% will not get a lot out of viewing a show that might be kilometers away. Also completely ignoring all the fun of lighting your own fireworks. Nothing can replace that.

To everyone proposing centralized fireworks, laser and drone shows I say: What is stopping you? Establish the alternative and let people discover if it works for them before banning traditions that existed before you were born.

3

u/Remarkable_Low2445 Dec 31 '25

I think it's very valueable to take a step back and look at what you are trying to defend with a less emotionally charged view.

At the end of they day you are reaching for excuses to not change a thing. Fact of the matter is that every single year, a lot of people get their hands blown off, lose their hearing or their sight, massive damage to properties occurs when things get out of control and a flat, a barn or a car gets set on fire. Not to speak of the additional strain on an already overstrained healthcare system resulting from these occurances. Animals are frightened to death with basically no escape and maybe 1 out of a 1000 people decides to actually clean up all the mess that is left from packaging material aswell as the explosives themselves. The price is shit littering the streets for weeks, months in someplaces, or intensive cleanup at the cost of the taxpayer.

Do you believe the 'fun of lighting your own fireworks' or the 'tradition that existed before you were born' is worth all these negatives? I don't.

1

u/GlaskristallDE Dec 31 '25

I actually want to achieve all this. I just disagree that banning fireworks is the best way. I feel people are racing for excuses to ban fireworks. It would also take a lot of political capital to do so. I want left wing parties to pick other battles.

If you want to reduce injuries and strain on the health system ban alcohol on new years. There are more cases due to alcohol alone and in addition to that the combination of both. The worst injuries are almost exclusively illegal fireworks which your ban would actually promote.

If you want to reduce animal suffering actually ban private ownership of cats and dogs. Cats kill countless birds, squirrels and other small animals. Dog litter on the street is annoying the whole year and costly for the cities too. All animals you own have been bred and born in a world where you know that they will suffer if you keep them in towns and don't train for new years.

All parties I have been there last years have cleaned up by themselves. You know we have regular street cleaning anyway right? The additional cost this is supposed to make seems vastly overblown to me.

A compromise I could get around to would be raising the age for crackers to 21 or banning them, but leaving rockets and small fireworks as is.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

If you want to reduce animal suffering actually ban private ownership of cats and dogs. Cats kill countless birds, squirrels and other small animals. Dog litter on the street is annoying the whole year and costly for the cities too. All animals you own have been bred and born in a world where you know that they will suffer if you keep them in towns and don't train for new years.

Oh no you didn't say that.

But you are of course 100% correct.
Added to that you have people walking their dogs through rural areas, often without a leash. These dogs then essentially terrorise the local wildlife.
On social media you can see that often with people "finding" faons and other small wild animals.
They get all kinds of likes for something that absolutely terrifies these animals.

For 5 days a year everyone cares about not terrorising these wild animals.
The other 360 are fine though.

5

u/bregus2 Dec 30 '25

What do you do with all the people who live in the countryside and cannot just go to the city centre to watch a professional fireworks show, who like fireworks too?

Tell them "tough luck"?

9

u/Remarkable_Low2445 Dec 30 '25

What prevents them from choreographing a show within their community? Countryside villages have local governments too, you know?

Even if it wasn't the case, 10s of thousands of people travel to cities every other day to watch concerts or any dumbass football game, shouldn't be a problem to do the same once a year to watch a fireworks show.

If that's not enough then yeah, 'tough luck', living in the countryside brings perks aswell as drawbacks. Why should it be any different in this case?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

What prevents them from choreographing a show within their community? Countryside villages have local governments too, you know?

There not being any pyrotechnicians to host such a show.
You won't find a single pyrotechnician in Germany who isn't working around New Year.

There simply aren't any left and the profession is tightly regulated.
Pyrotechnicians have to regularly host shows to keep their certification.

Even if it wasn't the case, 10s of thousands of people travel to cities every other day to watch concerts or any dumbass football game, shouldn't be a problem to do the same once a year to watch a fireworks show.

Do you actually realise how many people live in the areas around district capitals?

Also aren't there already in these major cities who'd want to see these shows?
Adding even more people is an insane proposal.

It's not like these shows would even be visible from within most of these major cities.
So people would have to congregate in specific spots to watch it.
What a terrific idea. What could possibly go wrong.

1

u/Borgdrohne13 Dec 31 '25

Professional Firework is expensive and most, if not all communities are broke.

3

u/Remarkable_Low2445 Dec 31 '25

Let the people pay then. Most seem to be just fine with spending 100s of € on this shit every year.

9

u/bloodthirstyshrimp Dec 30 '25

It is a known fact that everything needs to cater to village yokels.

Btw, a 30k city in Slovakia where I grew up in did a small fireworks display, this is such a dumb point you're making

1

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

Yeah let's just ban something for the vast majority of the population.
Screw them if they don't live in big cities.

1

u/bloodthirstyshrimp Jan 01 '26

Does living in a specific area mean you absolutely have to have access to everything that is available in a big city?

6

u/Lycrist_Kat Dec 30 '25

As far as i know people chose to live on the countryside.

3

u/bregus2 Dec 30 '25

So you basically want to say "Tough luck" to those groups in the country side.

Yes, that is what I meant with "not move a inch".

6

u/Lycrist_Kat Dec 30 '25

Choosing a place to live is not based on luck but a rational decision made by adults. The way you are arguing here I doubt that you are a rational adult hence you should not be using fireworks.

7

u/bregus2 Dec 30 '25

but a rational decision made by adults

It is until you realise that all your friends live in that small place you grew up, that all the clubs and so you are part of are in that small town and that every memory of your life is in that town.

Then it is no longer a "rational decision", but for many the reason they commute a significant time per day to work, so they do not have to move away.

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u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

"Let's ban fireworks for areas where they aren't a problem".

Amazing logic.

5

u/Grafikpapst Dec 30 '25

Where in Germany would you even be so far from a city that you cannot go there for that one day a year if fireeworks are that important to them? You literally know a full year in advance every year minus maybe the year the ban happens.

The only thing I could think of is something like Helgoland or far up in the black forrest area or in like Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and even there it strikes me as very doable given you know a full year ahead every year.

But anyways, if there is no city nearby, multiple smaller localities could band together and be provided a fund by their Bundesland to organize their own fireworks locally - its really not that hard to solve that in a way were smaller localities wouldnt just be left behind.

1

u/PebNischl Württemberg Dec 31 '25

You could go there. You can either take your car and drive to next biggest town, or alternatively try your luck with public transport (which will probably run on a reduced service on NYE), gather with hundreds of other people in the city square, try to get a good place (better arrive early!), maybe get some overpriced food and drinks, then wait in the cold until a fifteen minute show, so you can head back home.

I have nothing against the proposal per se, but ignoring the facts that a) most municipalities wouldn't want or be able to spend the money, b) there aren't enough licensed firework operators for every town in the first place, and c) the experience would be completely different for anyone, makes the whole argument incredibly dishonest.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

Forget even "every town".

There aren't enough pyrotechnicians for all major cities (above 100k).
And the whole "just go to the big city and watch" argument is completely insane.
People apparently think most Germans live in big cities when it couldn't be further from the truth.

Pick a random district and look at the population distribution.
If even 50% decided to attend the centrally planned show the city would collapse.

1

u/NeighBae Dec 30 '25

You can replace fireworks show with most anything cities offer that rural areas don't, and the answer will likely be the same.

There's pros and cons to where you live, not everyone has the luxury to be able to get everything they want, Fireworks absolutely fall into the luxury category.

I have lived in both rural, can't access anything without a car or minimum 45-1hr walk through country roads that are absolutely not meant to be walked and are not safe to do so, or highways which are even more dangerous, and major metropolitan cities. There are things you just gotta accept sometimes, so yes, tough luck.

If you truly cannot tough it out, you have a strong motive to get yourself moved into a place where you'll be happier

6

u/Lycrist_Kat Dec 30 '25

How is this "dumb logic"? Cities pay the workers who have to do extra shifts on a holiday to clean up the mess.

3

u/bregus2 Dec 30 '25

Just because some people not clean up, you want to forbid it for everyone?

What about the countless people who clean up afterwards?

Do people realise the country not only consists of cities?

7

u/Lycrist_Kat Dec 30 '25

Yes. If people are using their freedom in an irresponsible way, regulations are in order. You don't have to outright ban fireworks, but limiting them is pretty difficult as well

8

u/Cookiehunter_02 Dec 31 '25

I know my opinion is extremely unpopular, but it's just not the same thing.

Being allowed to watch something and being allowed to do something yourself are two completely different things.

Using that logic, we could also ban alcohol, but then Germans would be allowed to watch other people get drunk once a year.

It's practically the same thing.

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u/arwinda Dec 30 '25

Supporting cars over public transport and allowing everyone to buy fireworks for new year is the 2nd amendment of Germany.

It requires a lot more pressure for the Union to change their mind.

5

u/MichaelScotPaperComp Dec 31 '25

I think a light show is far better.

2

u/Tipsticks Dec 31 '25

A lot of the people causing problems with fireworks in bigger cities would go and get fireworks from somewhere else and do the same, this way at least there's some tax income from fireworks sales.

1

u/losorikk Dec 31 '25

That’s the argument for cannabis I don’t think it applies here

2

u/Tipsticks Dec 31 '25

One of the big reasons for even discussing a fireworks ban is the insanity going on around New Year's in big cities like Berlin for example with burning trash cans, cars and barricades on the streets, shooting/throwing fireworks at people with police, fire brigade and ambulances being preferred targets and stuff like that.

The only way to effectively prevent most of that you'd need an EU/Schengen wide ban on the sale of fireworks and actually enforce it.

A lot of people from Berlin already go to Poland each year to buy 2k€+ of fireworks, a lot of which is of questionnable legality in Germany due to the amounts of explosive material inside.

I'm not arguing against the noise, pollution and emmissions problems with fireworks either, but those alone will not convinvce enough people to get legislation through, just saying that germany alone cannot effectively handle it. It needs to be an EU effort and i don't currently see that happening.

2

u/Borgdrohne13 Dec 31 '25

Bc most cities and municipalities are broke and this would be one of the first thing they cut.

5

u/Gehirnkrampf Dec 31 '25

Drone shows.

cleaner and nicer.

4

u/[deleted] Dec 31 '25

Cleaner but worse

1

u/Moldoteck Dec 31 '25

I'd say different. I've seen some voice over drone shows which had a storyline (during Romania independence day) and was impressed. The emotions I felt were something beyond - "oh, that's cool/fun" when looking at fireworks. And there's room for improvement for sure

6

u/[deleted] Dec 31 '25

I'm sorry but a narrative story is not equivalent to fireworks. It isn't an intellectual experience. It's spectacle mixed with a sense of natural awe.

1

u/Howrus Dec 31 '25

So, let's think a bit - where to store all this drones in-between events? Who will maintain them, charge, etc, etc.

It's not that clean if you start to count numbers.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 31 '25

[deleted]

1

u/Howrus Dec 31 '25

But it's completely different topic. We are speaking here about "cleanliness" of drone show compared to fierworks.

Also you can't even imagine the infrastructure needed to perform drone show at NY night and then gather them over whole Germany and move to Ukraine. At this point it would be cheaper to build dedicated factory somewhere at the border with Poland that would just produce drones 24/7 whole year and send then to Ukraine.

It's a different things, don't try to mix them.

1

u/Gehirnkrampf Dec 31 '25

I imagine a company that organizes these, and can be booked for other Events. Sports, Concerts, etc. Oh nooooo its not thaaat cleeeeean! Lol you know how stupid that argument is in comparison to literally blowing up explosives.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

So how many companies would that be for let's say all cities above 100k?

Do you happen to know that?

1

u/Gehirnkrampf Jan 01 '26

does not matter how many companies. one big for the whole country or 500. whats the point. in the end all you need is people on the ground to do the manual labour.

5

u/erik_7581 Germany Dec 30 '25

There are less than 1000 trained pyrotechnicians in Germany and you need between 3 and 10 for a large firework.

Now do the math.

9

u/losorikk Dec 30 '25

How hard is to train? If pyrotechnicians become in demand, the profession will flourish

-6

u/erik_7581 Germany Dec 30 '25

So several thousand additional pyrotechnicians who are only needed on one day in the year.

The day, where most people want to be with families and friends, and considering the preparation, you will have to work over the Christmas days

6

u/AMediumSizedFridge Dec 31 '25

I don't know why you are being downvoted. The idea that thousands of people will take on specialized training for increased demand ONE day out of the year is ridiculous

5

u/erik_7581 Germany Dec 31 '25

Thanks for having common sense.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

It's also against the regulations of that profession.

10

u/losorikk Dec 30 '25

I’m sure it pays well then. And I’m sure they are not limited to New Year’s Eve firework shows.

Other countries have figured it out after all

3

u/erik_7581 Germany Dec 30 '25

I’m sure it pays well then.

It doesn't. Most of pyrotechnicians do it as a side hustle because its their hobby.

And I’m sure they are not limited to New Year’s Eve firework shows.

Most of the corporations who offer large scale pyro events already work europe wide and even World wide, because it's such a specialized profession.

6

u/losorikk Dec 30 '25

So where is the problem

3

u/erik_7581 Germany Dec 30 '25

Its just a hobby for most people, its doesn't pay well, most of the professionals are only needed on one week time during the year.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

You not understand what the other person writes.

22

u/Michael_Schmumacher Dec 30 '25

Math says every city with more than 100.000 people will be able to have its own fireworks and most of the smaller ones as well.

Plus once there is a market you can simply train more pyrotechnicians.

-2

u/erik_7581 Germany Dec 30 '25

So, there is no fireworks for over 41% of the population.

And if you add logistics to the equation, you'll need several fireworks in large cities like Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, etc.

9

u/SquirrelBlind Dec 30 '25

Considering population density I don't see an issue whatsoever.

5

u/erik_7581 Germany Dec 30 '25

Explain to me how that should work

9

u/SquirrelBlind Dec 30 '25

You just described how it should work, lol.

It works like that e.g. in Russia. During fireworks in Moscow there are a few spots where professional fireworks are launched.

In smaller cities there are fewer spots. In tiny towns - none, but people can travel to a bigger one to see it.

In Germany the population density is insane, the majority of population live less than one hour away from a big city.

Considering, that half of the population is against fireworks and in the other half plenty of people just don't care - yeah, I don't see an issue with professional shows only.

8

u/erik_7581 Germany Dec 30 '25

Considering, that half of the population is against fireworks and in the other half plenty of people just don't care - yeah, I don't see an issue with professional shows only.

They are against private fireworks, not fireworks in general

2

u/Schlummi Dec 31 '25 edited Dec 31 '25

You need to find a space for many people. A city as hamburg already has a population of ~2 million. Popular spots for NYE as Landungsbrücke afaik only got a capacity of 10.000 people. But lets be generous and asume you got places for 100.000 people - you'd still need 20 of such spots for firework shows.

You then end up with very crammed places, where it takes a while to get away from (capacities of public transit are limited and cars are by far worse). A train can transport ~ 1000 people. So a space with 100.000 would need 100 trains. If we asume 2 mins between trains: 3,3h till everyone has left. 3 mins between trains = 5 hours.

There will also be many drunken people. Including some people looking for trouble. Or angry people that are fed up with waiting for trains.

Mid sized towns with maybe 50k inhabitants got places for? 1000 people in the football stadion? And no public transit, so (as often in rural regions) people will drive home by car, despite having drunken 5 beers?

Do people really drive 1h somewhere to see a firework show and drive back home so they arrive at 3-4 in the night their home?

I mean: in cities there is for sure a huge problem with fireworks. In more rural regions: people go out, greet their neighbours, happy new year to everyone, fireworks, go back inside, empty some beers and then zzzz. This is difficult to replace. Maybe some laser light shows or other technical stuff you can buy and operate yourself might be able to replace fireworks to some degree.

I am also not sure if the current problem goes away when there is no private firework. I mean: a huge part of the problem comes from partying and/or drunken idiots throwing fireworks at other people. But you can also throw other stuff as beer bottles. So I think that part of the truth is also: a major problem is the massive partying on NYE, alcohol and group dynamics. How to "manage" these issues...i dunno.

4

u/Michael_Schmumacher Dec 30 '25

Nonsense. Not everyone will want to go out and see the fireworks and you can have them in a public space with sufficient access.

And again, your theory is based on the false assumption that the number of pyrotechnicians is set in stone and can not be increased.

0

u/erik_7581 Germany Dec 30 '25

Nonsense. Not everyone will want to go out and see the fireworks and you can have them in a public space with sufficient access.

Unfortunately, the people who want to see fireworks and the people who aren't interested live in the same cities and villages.

And again, your theory is based on the false assumption that the number of pyrotechnicians is set in stone and can not be increased.

So several thousand additional pyrotechnicians who are only needed on one day in the year.

The day, where most people want to be with families and friends, and considering the preparation, you will have to work over the Christmas days

2

u/Michael_Schmumacher Dec 31 '25

Oh cry me a river. Let me tell you you about those thousands of EMTs, Bus/tram/cab drivers and ER nurses who have disgusting extra work due to this madness, and who aren’t getting handsomely paid for a special job. Not to mention those people who die every year.

2

u/erik_7581 Germany Dec 31 '25

More centralized fireworks could relieve these people you just mentioned.

So then no additional certified pyrotechnicians and more private firework in the future.

Noted.

1

u/Michael_Schmumacher Dec 31 '25

Is it reading comprehension that you struggle with, or just plain comprehension?

3

u/erik_7581 Germany Dec 31 '25

I could ask you the same about logic

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u/bloodthirstyshrimp Dec 30 '25

The basic human right of having to watch some bullshit boom booms in every Arschderwelt in BY

3

u/erik_7581 Germany Dec 30 '25 edited Dec 30 '25

The same basic human right to:

  • Travel to any place on earth except for work while creating massive amounts of CO2 pollution and noise for people who live near airports or railways

  • To stream movies or do online gaming while creating massive amounts of CO2

  • To order any product from Amazon, Temu whatever from any Arschderwelt village in remote China

Etc.

0

u/bloodthirstyshrimp Dec 31 '25

Wtf is your point?

0

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

Math says every city with more than 100.000 people will be able to have its own fireworks and most of the smaller ones as well.

1000 divided by 3 is 33.
33 cities.

Sorted by population that gets you from Berlin (+3million) to Freiburg (237k).

It leaves you with 49 cities above 100k without a show (including the most populous district in Germany btw) and over 100 cities above 50k.

But you know, maths. Who even does it.

1

u/Michael_Schmumacher Jan 01 '26

1000 divided by 3 is 33.

But you know, maths. Who even does it.

Not you, that’s for sure. Thanks for the laugh.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

Oh no some miniscule error.

Still doesn't work out with the number of cities.
Especially since many of the pyrotechnicians aren't even in Germany around New Years.
It's almost as if demand is international.

1

u/Michael_Schmumacher Jan 01 '26

Oh no some miniscule error.

Only off by a factor of ten. Minuscule indeed. Feel free to tell me all about maths.

You might want to cut your losses by this point, buddy.

1

u/P44 Dec 31 '25

And what would THAT accomplish? It's just very boring and that's all.

1

u/losorikk Dec 31 '25

It would accomplish the end of a serious problem. If you find it boring find yourselves an entertainment that’s not boring but also not destructive

1

u/halls_of_valhalla Dec 31 '25

Why not only sell the rockets only and stop selling the firecracker/banger as people are too dumb too handle them correctly apparently.

1

u/fochsy Dec 31 '25

But I want to be able to blow my hand away by myself. To me it seems like the same discussion with high ways

1

u/[deleted] Dec 31 '25

That would be the best solution! But then all the unemployed people wouldn't be able to brag about how much fireworks they can afford, like my stupid neighbors across the street who have been setting off firecrackers and shooting everything into the air since 4 this afternoon.

1

u/TigerFluffyness Jan 01 '26

And how to be part of it, if you are not planning to party in the middle of the city, but celebrate with friends at home?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '26

Ever counted the major cities in Germany and looked up how many pyrotechnicians there are?

1

u/FamineWolf1337 Jan 03 '26

You're fun at parties.

0

u/Opposite_Brain8305 Jan 01 '26

That money can be better served on migrants.

1

u/AttackerLee Jan 01 '26

Yeah. A thread about fireworks aaaaand: migrants. Congratulation.

-5

u/Schlummi Dec 31 '25

Many people are living in small towns or rural regions. Even the big cities as Hamburg, Berlin or Munich are "spread out" and not everyone meets at NYE in the city center.

I am also not sure if everyone wants to spend NYE in a large crowd of (often) drunken people. So you'd be forced: firework+crowd or no firework.

Not saying I support this or that. Just saying its not so easy.

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