"[The smoke] blocks most of the light like a thick fog, and people object to it," Brown said. "It causes breathing problems. They object to pets being terrified and running away."
In 2000 the state government, hoping to curb enthusiasm for the noisemakers, passed a law requiring a U.S. $25 permit to purchase 5,000 firecrackers.
There's no limit on the number of permits an individual can buy, and many people get several. Honolulu, a city with nearly 400,000 residents, sold 13,981 permits in 2005.
Bountiful Food
While the firecracker tradition may spark divisions among Hawaiian residents, sharing food brings family, friends, and neighbors together, said Myles Tanaka, whose ancestors immigrated to Hawaii in the early 19th century from Japan.
"Around New Year's was a time when we were able to sample a lot of the different foods from other cultures," he said today on a broadcast of the Pulse of the Planet radio program.
(This news story and Pulse of the Planet receive funding from the National Science Foundation.)
For example, Portuguese prepare bean soup, Filipinos cook up pork adobo (marinated, boiled meat), and the Chinese make different kinds of dumplings, Tanaka said.
According to the Bishop Museum's Brown, another popular New Year's dish is mochi, a type of Japanese rice cake made with sticky rice that is repeatedly pounded.
"You literally stand there and whack at it," he said. The ritual, primarily performed by adult men, is something young boys look forward to participating in, he added.
Good Luck
In the past 10 to 15 years, the Japanese tradition of making and displaying kadomatsu has also become widespread, Brown noted.
Similar to flower arrangements, the decorative pieces are made of green bamboo and pine boughs tied together. People place them at the front door or entrance to a building to bring in good luck and ward off evil spirits.
"Interestingly, in Japan kadomatsu is not that popular," Brown said. "They don't make a lot of use of it anymore. In contrast, here it has become more popular and is used by lots of people who aren't Japanese."
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