MoCo Residents Embrace Christmas Fireworks Tradition

The first booms came shortly after sunset, building in frequency and intensity until a midnight crescendo, illuminating the night sky and echoing from Colesville to Damascus and Boyds to Bethesda. Surprised Montgomery County residents rejoiced.

The tradition of lighting fireworks to mark the beginning of Christmas began in Mexico and has been appropriated by Latinos from throughout the world, including more 200,000 who call Montgomery County home.

"What an incredible Christmas surprise. My normally aloof Dachshund was a quaking cuddle buddy all night long," said Rosa Metz of Wheaton in her neighborhood Facebook group.

For families with young children, the late night pyrotechnics had a extra benefit: parents could sleep in on Christmas morning. "Our kids didn't fall asleep until after the last volley, around 3am. It's now 11am, they're still sound asleep, and my husband and I are enjoying our second cups," Barb Chestnut of Gaithersburg boasted on Nextdoor.

The late night fireworks may have prompted a few Christmas miracles too. "I was always saying they oughta go back where they'd come from, but I like the fireworks. Maybe they ain't so bad. Felix Nazidad!" Roy McGowan from Burtonsville remarked on Truth Social.

Some said the fireworks were a nostalgic reminder of past holidays. Veteran Andrea Mocciato from Derwood, who served two tours in Iraq, wrote on X, "This brings me right back to Fallujah."

Residents county-wide praised Montgomery County Police for showing restraint. "No one should spend Christmas in pre-trial detention for loving baby Jesus," county executive Marc Elrich said in a Reddit post.