美国燃放焰火庆祝7月4日国庆
发布时间：2019-07-10 11:07:00 点击：0次
为了庆祝7月4日美国独立纪念日（Independence Day），很多美国人往往遵循传统，在晚间仰望灿烂的烟花在群星闪烁的星空燃放。此时此刻爱国情操油然而生。
燃放烟花的传统始于美国开国元勋之一，美国第二任总统约翰·亚当斯（John Adams）。他认为燃放烟花应该是独立纪念日的一项庆祝活动。他在给妻子阿比盖尔（Abigail）的信中写道，“从此以往，钟声、篝火和闪亮的光芒，从大陆的这一端延续到那一端，永世无穷。”
美国人接受他的建议奉行至今，亚当斯一定会因此感到欣慰。
据美国烟花协会（American Pyrotechnics Association）执行主任朱莉 ·赫克曼说，技术人员往往需要花费几个月的时间进行设计和编排，使烟花呈现五光十色的形态，例如闪亮的雨珠、倾泻的水流、菊花盛开等，同时为这些烟花配上动听的乐曲。
她说，“烟花的设计人员实际上利用天空作为幕布，按照自己的设想编排各种类型的烟花形状和效果，配合音乐在空中挥洒画笔。”
但是在小城镇，烟花仍然如同亚当斯时代的传统，通过人工燃放。新技术代价高昂，旧习惯的消逝需要时间。
赫克曼说，“这可能是他们小城镇的做法，他们只是喜欢这样做。”
Fireworks light up the sky on the 4th of July [video]
For many in the United States on July 4, the traditional way to end the day is to sit down, look up and watch a fireworks show — an artistic display of light, color and sound that fills the sky, evoking a sense of patriotic pride on America’s Independence Day.
Fireworks displays are an annual tradition, one that began with John Adams — a Founding Father and the country’s second president. Adams envisioned fireworks as part of Independence Day celebrations. In a letter to his wife, Abigail, Adams explained that the festivities should include “Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations [fireworks] from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”
Adams would likely be pleased that Americans took his advice — and ran with it.
In recent decades, big-city fireworks shows have become complex affairs lit electronically and choreographed by computer.
Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, says technicians spend months arranging fireworks patterns resembling crackling rain, falling water and chrysanthemums to match complex music.
“The creators of the pyrotechnics are really using the sky as a blank canvas and designing how they want the different types of fireworks and effects to paint the sky and synchronize with the music,” she said.
But in small towns, fireworks displays are often lit as they were in Adams’ time — by hand. New technologies can be costly, and old habits die slowly.
“It might be their own small town,” said Heckman, “and they just love doing it.”
来源：美国驻华大使馆，原题：灿烂的烟花在7月4日夜空绽放[附视频]