We huddle together whooping our pleasure at pretty shows and ground shaking explosions in dubious honour of a failed plot to blow up Parliament around 400 years ago.
But for a few of my constituents this time of year conjures up more painful memories, they remember when seemingly innocent frolics with fireworks went wrong. They bare the scars - sometimes mental, sometimes physical - of how dangerous these "pretty" explosives can be.
I receive many letters, particularly at this time of year, from constituents concerned about fireworks. Some speak of injuries, some of illegal imports, others of children and animals scared witless by the nightly barrage of explosions. As an animal lover I can sympathise; I have campaigned consistently for noise and time limits.
The Government has responded to such concerns, legislating against fireworks use in the face of increasingly hungry consumer demand for the thrill of ever bigger bangs.
Now it is the turn of the European Union to play its part in making fireworks safer for the public.
As we get ready to celebrate this annual spectacular, Members of the European Parliament have been working hard to ensure that the fireworks on sale in the UK and elsewhere in Europe are of a high and consistent safety standard.
In the UK in 2002, 1,017 fireworks related accidents were officially reported at hospitals across the country, the third-highest accident rate as a percentage of population of European countries that responded to a European Commission survey.
Perhaps most worryingly 50 percent of all accidents involved under 17 year-olds, with more than 30 percent of all those injured being children under 13 years old. Furthermore, between 2002 and 2004, 50 percent of all firework accidents in the UK occurred at family or private parties.
Whether the accidents reported in this country were a result of malfunction or misuse is unclear. But it is interesting to note that in Denmark in 2002 almost half of the recorded accidents were a result of a malfunction of the firework.
This is where the European Union steps in; the EU Pyrotechnics Directive is, to my mind, a highly sensible piece of European legislation that seeks to safeguard consumers and professionals against substandard fireworks (and other pyrotechnic equipment) by harmonising minimum safety rules across the Union, and thereby reducing the risk of accidents caused by malfunctions.
The EU market for fireworks is estimated at around €1.4 billion (£937 million), split evenly between professionals and consumers, but few fireworks are manufactured in the EU. Many fireworks are imported into Europe from China, where safety standards may lag behind those of many European countries. And with increasingly open borders, once inside the EU these fireworks can be easily transported from one Member State to another.
In an effort to combat the risk of sub-standard fireworks flooding our markets, the Pyrotechnics Directive sets out essential safety requirements with which manufacturers both inside and outside the EU will have to comply if their products are to be sold to European consumers. These requirements concern instructions such as the safe handling and storage of fireworks, and their physical and chemical stability. Exporters of fireworks will also have to ensure that fireworks are properly labelled in the official language(s) of the country in which they will be sold. Fireworks which meet the safety requirements will receive a CE mark, guaranteeing their free circulation in the EU.
As well as reducing accidents, this directive aims to reduce trade costs for companies dealing in fireworks (or other pyrotechnic equipment such as air bags in cars) across several Member States by creating a single market based on the principle "once tested, accepted everywhere". It will also reduce the burden on the tax payer (under current arrangements some national governments have undertaken their own safety testing regimes) by making it the responsibility of the manufacturer to prove their products comply with safety standards.
Importantly, this piece of EU legislation rightly leaves national governments to control their own laws on issues such as noise, the size of fireworks, minimum age of consumers, safety rules at public displays, etc. And in a small country like ours where we live in densely packed towns and cities this is essential.
Above all we must remember, remember this November 5 that fireworks are not toys. I hope all my constituents enjoy a happy and safe bonfire night.
