Every New Year, the sky lights up with fireworks—brilliant symbols of hope, prosperity, and fresh beginnings. Cities spend millions, families spend hundreds, and for a few moments, celebration fills the air. But when the smoke clears, an uncomfortable question remains:
Is it appropriate for us to celebrate with fireworks when some families are struggling to afford a meal?
Fireworks are a cultural tradition. For many Asian families, they are the way to banish evil spirits and invite positive fortune. For many Western families, fireworks symbolize unity, freedom, and new beginnings. Over the years, however, these traditions have become more and more commercial. Symbolic gestures have become expensive public spectacles and expensive private outlays—often bought with plastic, not cash.
Behind the celebration is a larger trend in holiday overspending. Research has found that major holidays are the most likely times of the year for people to run up credit card debt and then face months of financial stress. Many households report feeling pressure to “do it right” and “celebrate properly,” even when doing so requires delaying bills, forgoing savings, or incurring high-interest debt. Fireworks may only last minutes—but debt can last years.
At the same time, food insecurity is on the rise. Millions of U.S. households worry about where their next meal will come from. Hundreds of millions of people across the globe live with chronic hunger. Food insecurity isn’t just a hunger issue. Research has found it is closely associated with poor health, higher stress, childhood developmental delays, and high healthcare costs.
For public health, this juxtaposition matters. A meal on the table provides nourishment, dignity, stability, and protection. A savings account—even a small one—helps people weather the storms of life when they’re sick, between jobs, or hit by an unexpected expense. Studies have found that families with money in the bank experience less stress and better overall well-being than those who live paycheck to paycheck.
Fireworks have hidden costs, too. Every year, fireworks-related accidents injured thousands of people. Air and noise pollution from fireworks contribute to asthma, heart disease, anxiety, and PTSD—particularly among children, older adults, veterans, and pets. They are disproportionately likely to harm some of the same groups as food and financial insecurity: other vulnerable community members.
But the warning isn’t a call to reject culture or celebration. Communities deserve joy. Traditions are important. But culture should be strengthening families rather than pushing them to go into financial debt. Some communities are shifting priorities by linking celebrations with food drives, trimming fireworks budgets and promoting savings, or opting for safer alternatives like light shows or shared meals.
As we enter the New Year, perhaps the most meaningful resolution isn’t how brightly the sky will light up—but how families will be able to handle it when life becomes challenging.
Fireworks fade.
Food sustains.
Savings protect.
If we truly want a prosperous New Year, the answer may be simple: feed families first, save wisely, and celebrate within our means.
References (APA – simplified for public blog)
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2023). The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World.
- United States Department of Agriculture. (2023). Household Food Security in the United States.
- Federal Reserve. (2023). Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (2022). Credit card debt and financial stress.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Fireworks-related injuries.
- World Health Organization. (2022). Food security and health outcomes.
Written by:
Juram Gorriceta MPA, BSN RN, LSSHP, Simulation Specialist and Cost Saving Researcher.
Healthcarebeyond 
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