Most foreign students are under the impression that the best way to celebrate New Year in Eindhoven is to rent a car and go to Paris and spend it there. Or Rome. Or Barcelona. Or Berlin. Anywhere but here. As soon as Christmas holidays roll around the corner, the annual winter migration begins, as flocks of students head south, across the border, to sunny climes and promised lands.

I decided to brave the Dutch weather and spend New Years Eve in Eindhoven this year. New Year’s Eve, called Old Year’s Evening (Oudejaarsavond) in Dutch, is the only time fireworks are allowed in this country. If this is your first New Year’s Eve in Netherlands, you might get the false impression that the country has gone to war. Bursting of crackers begins as early as 15th December. In the days leading up to the 31st, walking or cycling at night becomes an adventure in urban warfare as neighbourhood kids take extreme pleasure in throwing mini bombs at passer-bys. This form of entertainment continues all the way up to New Years Eve.

On New Year’s Eve itself, pretty much everyone in the country lights fireworks. From sizzling bangers to dazzling rockets. You can see them all across the city, lighting up the sky, casting a luminescent glow over the city. It’s estimated that sixty million euros go up in smoke each year, enough to repay the national debt of some third world countries. At midnight nearly every inch of the sky is decorated with some firework or other. The fireworks go off for about two hours, while everyone is on the streets, drinking champagne, wishing each other “Beste Wensen” and exchanging hugs and kisses.

And this is how the Dutch cast aside their conservative-money-saving stereotype and celebrate “Oudjaar” in style. Happy New Year indeed, it’s a great way to start.