In With A Bang!

I tend to think of Dutch people as relatively calm. Perhaps that's why they let off so much steam on New Year's Eve. Retailers are only allowed to sell 25 kilos per customer. That's over 50 pounds! What would you do with 50 pounds of fireworks? In a neighborhood of row houses like this one? A Dutch news source estimated that people had spent even more this year than last year on fireworks when retailers reported firework sales of €68 million ($84 million US). That's a hefty chunk of change! 

Sign says: "Temporarily out of service"

It is legal to set off fireworks from 6 PM on December 30 til 2 AM on January 1. But at least a day before that time all of the neighborhood mail drop-off boxes  have been temporarily "boarded up." No letters can go in the slot; no fireworks can, either. The mayor of our town was very pleased with the results. This year there was only €492 worth of firework damage ($611). The mailbox and the bus stops in our neighborhood came through unscathed. And on New Year's Eve our household enjoyed an excellent fireworks display that lasted for nearly an hour. Only cost to us:  an over-the-counter medicine to calm down the cats.