From ritual to commercial? The significance of fireworks has changed over time, says sociologist Sandro Cattacin.
Keystone / Walter Bieri
On November 29, the Swiss will vote on a people’s initiative seeking to ban the sale and use of noisy fireworks. A recent poll shows that the initiative enjoys wide support. For sociologist Sandro Cattacin, this reflects a deeper shift in society, which has become more sensitive to risks, nuisances and well-being.
Once symbols of power and national unity, fireworks are under scrutiny in Switzerland. On November 29, Switzerland could become the third country in Europe to impose severe restrictions on their use, following Ireland and the Netherlands. Nearly seven in ten voters support the initiative calling for a ban on the sale and use of noisy fireworks, according to the first vote poll by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), Swissinfo’s parent company. This may seem unusual in a liberal country like Switzerland, which is usually reluctant to restrict individual freedoms. Surprised by the level of support for the fireworks initiative, Sandro Cattacin, a sociologist at the University of Geneva, believes it highlights a shift in society.
Swissinfo: The initiative to ban noisy fireworks currently enjoys the support of a majority of voters across all language regions and political parties, according to a recent poll. How do you explain this success in a country like Switzerland?
Sandro Cattacin is the head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Geneva (UNIGE).
Sandro Cattacin
Sandro Cattacin: This is part of a broader transformation of our societies, whose attitudes have changed profoundly. Tolerance for noise, for example, has fallen sharply, particularly against a backdrop of high stress levels and heavy workloads. Furthermore, concerns relating to animal welfare, the environment, the risk of fire and people with health problems now take up a more prominent place than before. Fireworks no longer occupy the same role in society as they did 20 or 30 years ago.
Swissinfo: What is the role of fireworks in our society?
S.C.: Their function has changed over the course of history. Until the Renaissance, fireworks displays were mainly organised by the elite to show off their wealth and power. The aim was to elicit the admiration of local people and to assert the prestige of those able to stage such impressive spectacles.
With the emergence of nation states, fireworks gradually ceased to be a symbol of sovereign power and became a way of forging national identity. National holidays, such as August 1 in Switzerland, are thus accompanied by fireworks designed to create a moment of collective emotion. All eyes turn towards the illuminated sky, with the idea that the spectators share a common sense of national belonging. This function remains evident today at certain events.
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Swissinfo: Is this idea of fostering a sense of belonging less important today?
S.C.: Yes, the significance of these fireworks displays has changed. They are no longer traditional rituals around which a community bonds. One reason for this is that people living in cities identify less with their city. They are more likely to seek a sense of belonging in their neighbourhood or to build a more complex sense of belonging across different places.
Fireworks are now more of an urban marketing tool designed to attract tourists. This was particularly the case in Zurich at the Züri-Fäscht, the city’s huge triennial festival, last held in 2023, where the display was entirely staged and synchronised with music. We are witnessing an aestheticisation of the whole experience. We no longer look up at the sky together. We gaze at it through our mobile phones, which record the display so we can share it on social media. This diminishes the sense of wonder. It is now the pursuit of an aesthetic experience, rather than the creation of a collective sense of belonging, that takes precedence.
Swissinfo: If these events disappear, is there not a risk that our society will lack moments of connection?
S.C.: We must find other ways to create this sense of sharing an emotion together. If the festival itself becomes a problem, we destroy towns, villages and places. We are stripping them of their very reason for being. We need these events to realise that we share a common destiny. If these rituals are missing, we lose our sense of belonging. If we lose our sense of belonging, we lose our sense of civic spirit. We create a cold society where everyone mistrusts one another.
Swissinfo: Many towns are now replacing fireworks with drone displays. Can drones fulfil the same function?
S.C.: Drone displays can indeed evoke a certain fascination. But they do not possess the same symbolic and emotional potential as fireworks. Firstly, because they are silent. Yet noise and vibrations are an essential part of the experience.
A collective experience also requires a certain physical intensity. The body needs to be jostled slightly – perhaps even to feel a little fear or discomfort – for the sense of sharing an experience together to become more powerful.
Moreover, the backers of the initiative themselves are aware of this aspect. They plan to retain the option of organising fireworks displays for certain celebrations. It is private fireworks displays that are primarily being targeted.
Swissinfo: The debate over fireworks extends far beyond Switzerland’s borders. Several countries have already restricted or banned their use, such as the Netherlands, Ireland, Australia and Singapore. How do you interpret this trend?
S.C.: This is a trend that says something about our civilisation. We are trying to go even further in controlling risks and nuisances, even though we know it is impossible to control everything.
What is changing is our tolerance threshold when it comes to inconveniences. Fireworks remain acceptable as long as they are not dangerous or too noisy or disruptive. In other words, we now expect celebrations to respect an increasing number of sensitivities.
The 21st century is characterised by a heightened sensitivity to well-being, whether it be one’s own, that of others or that of the environment. Many recent social movements, such as #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, fall into this category. Here we have an entire generation saying “enough is enough”, but in a different way. They are not doing so in the name of an ideology, but because they are suffering. It is a new way of doing politics.
Edited by Pauline Turuban. Adapted from French by Patrick Julian Huwyler/sb
