But I seem to remember that the magic was to do with the lights and colours and patterns with the occasional banger for good measure.
There is a firework party going on a few doors down from us as I'm writing this and all it seems to consist of is massively loud bangs which rattle the windows and very little, it has to be said, in the way of visual display.
Am I imagining it or has the emphasis changed from stunning pyrotechnics to an attempt to recreate the conditions which prevailed during the battle of the Somme?