March 1961: Playing with fire

Where there's smoke, there's fireworks? Not since the 1970s, when the government introduced the Dangerous Fireworks Act due to an unfortunate accident during some Chinese New Year celebrations which caused six deaths. But fireworks do have a long history in Singapore, dating back hundreds of years.

Called baozhu ('bamboo explosions) in Mandarin, firecrackers are derived from the Chinese tradition of burning bamboo to cause small explosions to drive away evil spirits. Because of this, they were initially used during funerals, but over time, have taken on a more celebratory note, literally making a scene in everything from wedding processions to festivals.

In Singapore, they used to be widely available, and people could even buy them off street vendors in Geylang Serai.