The New Year starts with a bang. To ensure that the year gets off to a promising start, the Chinese set off fireworks—gunpowder packed tightly in bundles of red paper—to frighten away evil. The result is a deafening cacophony of explosions that bathes the streets in shreds of red paper. Many major municipalities in China and elsewhere have banned firecrackers, but the ever-resilient Chinese have managed to make do with pre-recorded firecracker sound effects, simulated smoke, and flashing lights. A few Chinese cities have recently lifted the ban under public pressure.