In the UK, we mainly associate fireworks with Bonfire Night, but fireworks have been used in many different celebrations for centuries, all around the world…

The first fireworks were probably made by the Chinese around 1,000 years ago. No one knows for sure. Fireworks took a while to reach Europe. In the 14th Century, Italy and France were the first European countries to have fireworks. The first recorded fireworks in Britain were at the wedding of King Henry VII in 1486.

Fireworks are as popular today as they have ever been. A firework display brings people together and they are used to celebrate religious, political and social traditions. Depending on the celebration, they can generate all kinds of feelings and emotions from the audience. Combine this with mankind’s interest in fire and the stunning visual and audio effects a firework display produces, and you have the reasons why fireworks will always attract and enthral an audience, no matter what part of the world they come from.

On November 5th, known as Bonfire Night, we light fireworks and bonfires to remember the Gunpowder Plot. On that date in 1605, soldiers found gunpowder and a man called Guy Fawkes in a cellar under the Houses of Parliament. Guy Fawkes was a Catholic and he was angered by the way King James I treated Catholics, so he was attempting to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill the King. Guy Fawkes was tortured and killed. In 1606, November 5th was made a day of public thanksgiving to celebrate the defeat of the plot.

In America, Independence Day is celebrated on July 4th with street parties and parades, firework displays and trips to the country and to the beach. It marks the signing of the 'Declaration of Independence', drawn up by Thomas Jefferson in 1776. Before 1776, America was governed by Britain. July 4th marks America’s split from Britain’s rule and the birth of America as an independent country.

Bastille Day is a national holiday in France to commemorate the storming of the Bastille prison on 14th July 1789. It is one of the earliest events to occur during the French Revolution and is celebrated with millions of fireworks throughout France. Bastille Day is very significant as the French celebrate being members of a republican nation.

Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights. It is the most popular of all the festivals from South Asia and is an occasion celebrated by Jains and Sikhs, as well as Hindus. It celebrates the return of Rama and Sita to Ayodhya after their 14 year exile, and also celebrates the day Mother Goddess destroyed a demon called Mahisha. People light oil lamps and lights in their houses and in the streets. The celebration of the festival is also accompanied by the exchange of sweets and explosion of fireworks.

Chinese New Year starts with the new moon on the first day of the New Year and ends on the full moon, 15 days later. The 15th day of the New Year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated with lantern displays. Fireworks play an important part in the celebrations of the Chinese people, who are said to be their inventors, and millions of firecrackers are let off all over China to scare away evil spirits and demons.

The world’s biggest firework was lit in Japan in 1988. It weighed over half a tonne and created a burst that measured one kilometre in diameter!

The record for the longest firework display was set in Malaysia in 1988. Over three million firecrackers were lit over a nine hour period.

Coloured fireworks didn’t exist until the 19th Century.

The largest firework display in the UK took place in 1995, to commemorate VJ Day. Over 18 tonnes of fireworks were used!

The Japanese word for firework is ‘hanabi’ and it means ‘fire-flower’.

The first fireworks recorded in America were set off by an Englishman called Captain John Smith. You might remember him from the story of Pocahontas.

Another amazing firework display took place in 1997 to celebrate Hong Kong being handed back to Chinese rule. It was worth around £300 000, used 27 tonnes of fireworks and more than 19,500 explosions were seen and heard.

It is estimated that 100,000,000 fireworks were sold in 2002.