Firecrackers are a big noise at any Chinese celebration, but in recent years, the once propitious symbol has become a short fuse leading to a fiery argument.
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The debate erupts around this time every year. Lunar New Year is for firecrackers what the Superbowl is for guacamole. The rumbling controversy erupted once again after a picture of two street sweepers went viral on the Internet. In the picture, the couple hold a poster asking people to light fewer firecrackers and allow them to go home early to their own celebrations this year.
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Street sweepers have to work long, extra hours at New Year, which falls on Feb. 19 this year, clearing up literally tonnes of detritus from millions of the pesky little explosives. People traditionally lit firecrackers to "scare away evil spirits" and, though next to no-one believes this superstitious stuff anymore, old habits, especially such fun old habits, die hard.
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The Chinese have a soft spot for poor people working hard and some netizens have proposed a complete moratorium on firecrackers to alleviate pressure on the workers and create a better environment. Scores of diehard traditionalists, it turns out, have no intention whatsoever of guarding their powder.
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According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, firecrackers during last year's Lantern Festival, the end of Spring Festival, pushed PM 2.5 readings well past healthy levels in Beijing, Tianjin, Xi'an and their neighboring areas. In Xi'an, firework garbage was two or three times more than usual, putting huge pressure on street sweepers.
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Even local governments have joined the anti-cracker campaign: Provinces like Hebei, Jiangxi, Shaanxi have restricted their use. Local governments can issues all the restrictions they like, but they are very difficult to execute in the middle of the frantic street parties that take place all across the nation.
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Despite of environmental gripes and the standard set of "safety" concerns, there is no shortage of firecracker fundamentalists dedicated to preserving tradition in the face of legions of do-gooders.Â
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 Firecrackers are a big noise at any Chinese celebration, but in recent years, the once propitious symbol has become a short fuse leading to a fiery argument.
