(Photo source: Weibo account of People's Daily)

A recent picture has gone viral on social networks: two elderly cleaning workers stand in the cold wind holding a big card carrying the message: "Young men, set off less fireworks, so my old pal can go home earlier! Thank you!" Many netizens have expressed their support.

(Photo source: Weibo)

However, another picture quickly followed: an old man selling fireworks, with the caption: "Please buy more fireworks from this poor old man." Now many netizens are asking themselves: should we buy fireworks or not?

Some say that setting off fireworks at the Spring Festival is a tradition going back hundreds of years. The festival would lose much of its charm without fireworks. Besides, it is the duty of cleaning workers to clean up during the Spring Festival, just like doctors and policemen, who also have to work during the festival.

It is true that setting off fireworks is a very unique part of the Chinese New Year. People place many good wishes in the beautiful fireworks. And in real life, the ban of fireworks is hard to carry out in many places, because for many Chinese people, without the sound of firecrackers, it won't really feel that the New Year has arrived. However, this tradition, originating in an ancient agricultural society, has caused many problems in modern life: fires, air pollution, injuries, etc. The sound of firecrackers carries a large social cost in safety protection and environmental clean-up. To date, nearly 700 cities in China have bans or restrictions on fireworks.

The conflict between tradition and reality reveals to us that we can't adopt a sweeping approach to the firework issue. People should be guided to set off fireworks safely and legally.

Just like the cleaning workers, doctors and nurses who treat people injured by fireworks, and policemen and firefighters who come to the rescue when accidents are caused by fireworks - they all want to go home earlier and enjoy their Spring Festival. If we can set off fewer fireworks with more attention to safety, their workload will be reduced.

In fact, the vitality of a tradition does not lie in stagnation, but in changing with the times. Whether to buy and set off fireworks rationally is a test of people's sense of duty. We hope that the wishes of those sanitary workers will encourage more people to make a civilized choice. 

The article is edited and translated from《鞭炮声里的文明思量》, source: People's Daily, author:Lv Xiaoxun.