Fireworks. Not intending to distract from your other burning issues, this is a footnote. My 6 months in Berlin comprised two 3-month summer stays & I never knew of the New Year chaos you report. There is a WEEK of chaotic home grown fireworks in Valencia, Spain that I did suffer through once a couple of years ante-COVID. La Fallas. There must be many who love it and certainly there are many who come to town (like my spouse) to re-connect with it. Big tourist draw. Just as there are many residents who arrange to leave town for a week to escape.
The tradition has pre-Christian roots. Neighborhood communities spend a year preparing wood and paper mache sculptures, often satirical, that will be burned in Las Fallas. Surrounding communities send bus loads of elaborately costumed children and adults for the parades. The festival ends with highly elaborate professional pyrotechnical displays, an art form highly developed and appreciated in Spain.
Fireworks. Not intending to distract from your other burning issues, this is a footnote. My 6 months in Berlin comprised two 3-month summer stays & I never knew of the New Year chaos you report. There is a WEEK of chaotic home grown fireworks in Valencia, Spain that I did suffer through once a couple of years ante-COVID. La Fallas. There must be many who love it and certainly there are many who come to town (like my spouse) to re-connect with it. Big tourist draw. Just as there are many residents who arrange to leave town for a week to escape.
The tradition has pre-Christian roots. Neighborhood communities spend a year preparing wood and paper mache sculptures, often satirical, that will be burned in Las Fallas. Surrounding communities send bus loads of elaborately costumed children and adults for the parades. The festival ends with highly elaborate professional pyrotechnical displays, an art form highly developed and appreciated in Spain.