Lighting firecrackers is a favorite activity during Chinese New Year celebrations. Legend has it that a mythical monster called Nian would come out on New Year's Eve to raid and eat the villagers. Ancient Chinese people discovered that when they burned dry bamboo, the explosive rat-at-at sound scared away the beast, and thus lighting firecrackers became a tradition for Chinese New Year.
But in Singapore, lighting firecrackers was banned since the 1970s so its citizens got quite creative in replicating the popping sound. At first, people tried playing recorded sound of firecrackers but that was kind of disappointing.
For Chinese New Year 2022, Tiktoker @papa_goh devised a home-made contraption that made the crackling sound of firecrackers by popping a string of red balloons. He attached a block of wood with a hole in the middle and some screws or bolts on its surface. A string of red balloons was threaded through the hole, and the wooden contraption was put on a home exercise equipment. When he pulled the string, the balloons hit the screws and popped, making the firecracker sounds. Ingenius!
"Putting the 'fire' in 'balloon cracker' Spreading a little cheer for the neighbours. Happy "Chap Goh Mei" (15th night of Lunar New Year) everyone!" he wrote.
Image: @papa_goh/Tiktok
@papa_goh Putting the “fire” in “balloon cracker” 🥳 Spreading a little cheer for the neighbours. Happy Chap Goh Mei everyone! #CNY2022 #sgtiktok
♬ original sound - papa_goh - papa_goh