Fireworks Month (November) is here and the annual fireworks noise frenzy is about to affect most residents, animals and birds. Improper use of fireworks is illegal and it is important to know the strict fireworks regulations and the rights of residents to demand action against illegal fireworks usage.
- No person may light or ignite fireworks in any place where animals are present. This includes domestic homes.
- No person may allow a minor (child) under their supervision to use, light or ignite fireworks. No exceptions to this rule.
- No person may use fireworks on any agricultural holding or at any school or senior citizens’ residence without special Council authorisation. This authorisation must be sought well in advance of intended day.
- No person can use fireworks within 500 metres of any petrol depot or petrol station.
- No person or organisation can present a fireworks display or show without special authorisation from the Council, Civil Aviation Authority and the Chief Inspector of Explosives. At such a display granted, a Pyrotechnist and SA Police Services explosives expert must be present at all times. .
- No person may sell fireworks unless they hold a fireworks licence in terms of the Explosives Act as well as the written authority of the Chief Fire Officer.
Report Illegal use of Fireworks:
City of Tshwane’s By-law Enforcement Centre
Tel: 012 358 0070
Toll-free number: 0801 111 556
Select Option 1 for “Fire, ambulance and metro police” Then should select Option 3 for the By-law Enforcement Centre.
Email: bylawenforcementcenter@tshwane.gov.za or bec@tshwane.gov.za.
Report Noise Complaints:
Environmental Health one-stop service:
Tel: 012 358 4656
Toll-free number: 0801 111 556
Email: bec@tshwane.gov.za
Important Dates for November & December 2015:
5 November
Guy Fawkes Night is celebrated annually and is accompanied by firework displays and bonfires. The origin of this celebration stems from a conspiracy known as “The Gunpowder Plot” intended to blow up English Parliament along with King James I on 5 November 1605. It was intended to initiate a great uprising of English Catholics, who were distressed by the increased severity of penal laws against the practice of their religion. When the plot was eventually revealed, they took steps which led to the discovery of the hidden cache and the arrest of Guy Fawkes on the night of November 4th as he entered the cellar. The majority of the other conspirators were killed outright, imprisoned or executed. While the plot itself was the work of a small number of men, it provoked hostility against all British Catholics and led to an increase in the harshness of laws against them.
10 & 11 November
Diwali is an ancient Hindu festival celebrated annually. It is the biggest and the brightest festival that spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness. The festival rituals typically extend over a few days but the main festival night of Deepavali coincides with the darkest, new moon night of the Hindu Lunisolar month Kartika.
16 December
Day of Reconciliation is a South African public holiday that is held annually since 1994 after the end of apartheid, with the intention of fostering reconciliation and national unity. 16 December was previously commemorated Dingaan’s Day, the Voortrekker victory over the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River in 1838, and is still celebrated by some Afrikaners. This day is also the de facto start of the 16-day South African summer holiday period. It is the first of four public holidays observed at the height of summer in the Southern Hemisphere, along with Christmas Day, Day of Goodwill and New Year’s Day. Many small businesses close down and employees go on leave over this period.
25 December
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas Day is a public holiday in South Africa but is also celebrated culturally by a large number of non-Christian people, and is an integral part of the holiday season.
26 December
Boxing Day is traditionally celebrated in most former British colonies, on the day following Christmas, when people spent their day ‘boxing up’ their Christmas gifts. In South Africa, Boxing Day was renamed Day of Goodwill in 1994 to sever ties to a colonial past.
31 December
New years Eve is the last day of the year and celebrations will take place annually on December 31. In many countries, New Year’s Eve is celebrated at evening social gatherings, where people dance, eat, drink alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the new year. The celebrations generally go on past midnight into January 1 (New Year’s Day).
