EDITORIAL - Revelry

Hours before the clock strikes midnight tonight, Filipinos will already be plunged into a grand New Year revelry, a tradition that has been with us since time immemorial. That is because we always want to welcome the New Year with a big bang.

The country not only holds the rare distinction of having the longest Christmas celebration in the world, which is from September to January, it also possesses the record of having the wildest and noisiest holiday celebrations.

And, of course, the holiday celebrations in the country have always been deadly. In the past, we have witnessed how this sometimes uncontrolled revelry produced grim images of those injured or killed either by firecrackers or stray bullets.

With the proliferation of prohibited firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials, we can only expect that tonight’s New Year celebrations will be just like those previous revelries when many people across the country were seriously injured or even killed.

And what’s worse is that there are those who sustained injuries, some fatal, from indiscriminate firing. Many of the culprits were even policemen and soldiers, the reason why the sealing of gun muzzles has become an annual tradition by the police and military.

Despite repeated calls by authorities for the revelers to refrain from buying prohibited firecrackers, many still resort to using dangerous items, wanting to meet the New Year with the loudest bang. This is the reason why the holiday celebrations in this country are always bloody.

Because banned items have always found their way into the customer’s hands, injuries will always be part of our holiday celebrations. And we can only blame the authorities for not being religious in the drive against prohibited firecrackers and pyrotechnic items.

As the country braces for the New Year, we do hope that each one will observe extra care in our revelry today. Everyone needs to be aware that the celebration is not all about the grandest and loudest firecracker display. It’s about hoping for a brighter New Year.