Khlopushki i bengal'skie ogni?

[George Kalbouss]

My parents were immigrants from pre-revolutionary Russia, and what I  
recall about these terms, as
they explained them to me were:

(l) khlopushki, weren't really firecrackers, they were more like  
"noisemakers,'  you pulled a little
paper tab and they would make a small explosive noise,  maybe a cap was  
inside.

(2) bengal'skie ogni were small pieces of paper that were saturated  
with some chemicals, probably
the formula mentioned in Google, which when rubbed together would  
ignite, emit a bright flame,
and then immediately extinguish themselves.  It would appear as if the  
flames came out of your
fingers.  The flame would be out by the time it reached the floor.   
Magicians used them a lot in the beginnings or
finales of their acts.  I always wondered if the flames were hot, my  
parents would tell me that they were
not.  Perhaps these pieces of paper were just one example of  
bengal'skie ogni, and there were others.

George Kalbouss
The Ohio State University
kalbouss at mac.com

On Dec 8, 2006, at 1:01 PM, Anna Reid wrote:

> English Victorian novels sometimes mention 'Bengal lights', meaning a  
> sort of firework, and the dictionary has a 'bengal light' as a 'steady  
> bright blue light, formerly used for signalling, now as a firework.'  
> Google the term and you get a chemical recipe for one! The phrase  
> might have taken on a slightly different meaning in Russian of course.
>
> Emily Saunders <emilka at MAC.COM> wrote:  I believe that khlopushki are  
> Christmas crackers and bengal'skie ogni
> are sparklers. Fireworks on a large scale civic level are fejerverki
> ÆÅÊÅÒ×ÅÒËÉ or salyut ÓÁÌÀÔ. I've forgotten what you call the roman
> candle like things that people shoot off their balconies on New Year's.
>
> Emily Saunders
>
> On Dec 6, 2006, at 7:04 AM, Peter Scotto wrote:
>
>> Are Russian "khlopushki" like good-old American "firecrackers," or are
>> they your more sedate (but more amusing) English-style "Christmas
>> crackers"?
>>
>> What about "bengal'skie ogni" like the "sparklers" we let the little
>> kids play with?
>>
>> Thanks!
>> Peter Scotto
>> Mount Holyoke College
>> pscotto at mtholyoke.edu
>>
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