Explosive Carnival in Portugal

The Carnival celebration in Portugal begins on the XI century and is celebrated during the 3 days that precede the Ash Wednesday. In Portugal, the most traditional name for Carnival is "Entrudo", from the Latin word "introitus". During the festivities, people wear scary masks and make lots of pranks with each other. As the Carnival is right before the 40 days of lent, people use it to celebrate the "desires of the flesh", so, everything related to that is practiced during the Carnival festivities.

Anyway, lets talk about the "explosive" part of the Portuguese Carnival. During this celebration, the culminanting moment is what we call the "Enterro do Entrudo", or, in English, "The Shrovetide Burial". This is like a funeral procession of a scary puppet with some bombs inside ( usually small salute bombettes ) that is carried inside a coffin through the streets followed by a crowd (some people in the crowd cry during this moment, like in a real funeral procession making the moment even more intriguing). At the end of the procession, usually in a square or any open place, there is the end moment - fire is set to the puppet and leave it burn and explode in pieces - this is an amazing moment, because parts of the puppet like clothes and straw fly due to the explosions. Unfortunately in some places (I think the majority today) don't use bombs inside the puppet and just let it burn, but some still preserve the ancient tradition.

I think this kind of celebration also exists in some other countries, if you live in a country that also celebrates Carnival this way, please let us know in the comments.

entrudo

Image from https://www.altominho.tv

Comments

Heavy smoke in Copacabana Fireworks Show

Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is famous for it's huge and beautiful fireworks show every year. But last New Years Eve (2024 - 2025), many viewers were disappointed with the show because of a heavy smoke cloud that overshadowed the beauty of the spectacle right after the first 2 minutes. But what was the reason of so much smoke? We all know that almost any kind of firework cause lots of smoke. Many people think the problem was caused by the quality of the products, but the main reason for that was probably the high humidity rate. In Rio de Janeiro, the highest humidity rates occur between december and april. According to INMET (National Institute of Meteorology), the humidity at the moment of the show was around 89% , so this, along with an unfavorable wind, was the main reason for the problem. Below is a picture of the beautiful start of the show: But unfortunately some minutes later: Anyway, with lots of smoke or not, for us that love fireworks it's a...

Japanese vs Chinese Fireworks: A Tale of Two Traditions

The fireworks industries of Japan and China represent two distinct approaches to pyrotechnics, shaped by centuries of cultural heritage, technological innovation, and market dynamics. Historical Origins China is widely recognized as the birthplace of fireworks, with a history dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). In contrast, Japan adopted fireworks later, primarily during the Edo period (1603-1867), developing a unique aesthetic and technological approach. Manufacturing Approaches Chinese Fireworks Industry Dominates global production, accounting for approximately 90% of world fireworks manufacturing Characterized by large-scale, low-cost production Massive industrial clusters in provinces like Hunan and Guangdong Strong export-oriented manufacturing model Focuses on volume and economic efficiency Japanese Fireworks Industry Emphasizes precision, artistic quality, and aesthetic design Smaller-scale production with high-value specialty prod...

Double Voice Cracker

These days I watched a video of a strange fireworks device I have never seen and discovered it's name is " Double Voice Cracker ". Today I will tell you what I have learned about it. Also known as Heaven and Earth or Bing Bong , Double Voice Crackers are a chinese type of firecracker that essentially produces 2 bangs, one in the ground an another in the air. It is like a mortar and shell self contained in a single tube divided in the middle by a clay (or other hard material) plug with a timing fuse. Below is a diagram of a Double Voice Cracker from the book " The Best of AFN II ": Before igniting the fuse, the device must be placed over a hard and flat surface with the lifting charge facing the ground. When the fuse is ignited, the lifting charge explodes and kicks the tube into the air, while igniting the time fuse and finally the report charge explodes in the air. The report charge could be flash powder or any other effect. For more safety ...

Fireworks Blog

Search This Blog