I live in the general area of Lincoln County, NC. It's a long tradition, well over 100 years, of the firing of black powder guns and other "inventions" to welcome the New Year in Cherryville and the surrounding area. Typically, a group of men will go to someone's house and fire guns and then move on to the next one. This is done for good luck, crop growth, good fortune, etc... The group is legit and take safety seriously. Then, you have other people who just do stupid stuff like the homemade thunder mug. I heard explosions this year that made me wonder exactly what some folks were using. A few sounded absolutely warlike and you could feel it inside of the house. Whatever it is, it goes way beyond commercial fireworks that are available on the market. I'm surprised that someone hasn't gotten killed up to this point.