Firecrackers
A firecracker (cracker, noise maker, banger, or bunger) is a small explosive device primarily designed to produce a large amount of noise, especially in the form of a loud bang; any visual effect is incidental to this goal. They have fuses, and are wrapped in a heavy paper casing to contain the explosive compound. Firecrackers, along with fireworks, originated in China.
The predecessor of the firecracker was a type of heated bamboo, used as early as 200 BC, that exploded when heated continuously. The Chinese name for firecrackers, baozhu, literally means "exploding bamboo." After the invention of gunpowder, gunpowder firecrackers had a shape that resembled bamboo and produced a similar sound, so the name "exploding bamboo" was retained. In traditional Chinese culture, firecrackers were used to scare off evil spirits.
Firecrackers are generally made of cardboard or plastic, with flash powder or black powder as the propellant. This is not always the case, however. Anything from match heads to lighter fluid have been used successfully in making firecrackers. The key to loud firecrackers, however, although in part lying in the propellant substance, is pressure. The entire firecracker must be very tightly packed in order for it to work best. Flash powder, however, does not need to be packed tightly, and should not be.
James Dyer Ball, in his book Things Chinese, has a detailed description about the process and material used for making firecrackers at the end of the 19th century. At that time, firecrackers were made by female and child workers, using straw paper to make the body of the firecracker, while the fuse was made of bamboo paper imported from Japan, then stiffened with buckwheat paste. The bamboo paper was cut into strips of 14 inches (360 mm) long and 1⁄3 inch (8.5 mm) wide, laid on a table; a string of gunpowder was placed at the center with a hollow tube, then twisted up to make a piece of fuse. The firecracker tubes were made from pieces of straw paper wrapped around iron rods of various diameters and then tightened with a special tool. 200 to 300 firecrackers were tied up in a bunch, then red clay was spread at the bottom of the bunch and forced into each end of the firecracker with a punch; gunpowder was poured in, then the other end was sealed with an awl by turning the tube inward, and a fuse inserted.
Firecrackers are commonly used in celebration of holidays or festivals, such as Halloween, Independence Day (also known as the Fourth of July) in the United States of America, Diwali in India, Tihar in Nepal, Day of Ashura in Morocco, Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night in the United Kingdom, Halloween in Ireland, Bastille Day in France, Spanish Fallas, in almost every cultural festival of Sri Lanka (e.g. Sri Lankan New Year), New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, Purim in Israel, and in the celebration of Chinese New Year by Chinese communities around the world.
...
Wikipedia