“I should let you know that my son really celebrates New Year’s Eve. He puts up a big bamboo pole. The firecrackers leave all these little red papers the next morning. The man who rented your house last year said it sounded like a war zone. I just thought I should warn you.”
My husband and I smiled and nodded and thanked him for the warning. However, we didn’t admit that we were actually confused. We were familiar with neighborhood fireworks, of course, because at home on the mainland people do that too. What did bamboo have to do with anything?
For information on a unique holiday that I learned about in Germany, read here.
Hanukkah in Hilo
As a Jew, I goofed and forgot to plan for how far ahead you need to order supplies when shipping items to the island. The only synagogue on our island is 2 hours away on the west side. Therefore, acquiring any Hanukkah supplies was impossible. My husband and I managed a small observance of sorts, but overall, the holiday was an intimate affair. Christmas day, however, was something quite different.
December 25th in Hilo
In the true spirit of Aloha, our kind, older neighbor (the father of the man who likes fireworks) knew we were alone and, therefore, invited us to his family’s Christmas luncheon. About thirty or forty people under his carport mingled and stuffed themselves on homemade Hawaiian classics. The menu included grilled shrimp, chicken long rice (which isn’t rice, it’s glass noodles), slow-roasted kalua pork, lau lau (taro leaves wrapped around pork), prime rib, lomi lomi salmon, poke, purple sweet potatoes, and poi (taro root made into paste). We were grateful for the hospitality and for the opportunity to be a part of such an authentic Hawaiian experience.
New Year’s Eve in Hilo – A Primer
In late December, I did an internet search to determine what role bamboo plays in New Year’s Eve celebrations in Hawaii. Afterall, my neighbor’s warning still felt a bit cryptic to me. New Year’s Eve in Hilo was, apparently, going to be different. How? I am going to let “Mr. Internet” explain the tradition.
Indeed, several days before December 31st, my thirty-something neighbor installed a green bamboo pole that arched over the center of the cul-de-sac in front of our houses. My best estimation is that it was at least 30 feet long.
New Year’s Eve in Hilo – Our Experience
At 6:30pm on December 31st, it was dark. New Year’s Eve in Hilo (for us) kicked off as the fireworks began. Our next-door neighbor and four or five other neighbors along our street set off canisters in the street, the occasional storied firecracker strand on the bamboo pole, and even a few professional-grade explosions that created starbursts high overhead. Somewhere after 1:00am, I think, the neighborhood’s firepower ran out. Though they didn’t go to bed (as I did). Neighbors sat in their yards and visited with family and friends for another hour or so. Welcome 2026!
High quality nighttime photos are impossible to take. Hopefully, though, you will be able to see the explosions all down the street in the photos below.
It was fascinating to learn that the bamboo pole and Chinese-style firecracker combination is more common in my town than in other parts of the islands. A week later, I met an acquaintance and she asked what we thought of New Year’s Eve in Hilo. I told her we thought it was certainly something beyond the few neighborhood fireworks we were used to. She replied, “Yeah, did you see the bamboo pole? That’s old school Hilo, for sure.”
The holidays in Hilo were a reminder of why I travel. Sir David Attenborough said, “No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced.” Travel makes us better people. The new year seems like a good time to reflect on that. Happy New Year, everyone.
If you’ve had a special holiday experience while traveling (any holiday at all), I’d be honored if you would share it in the comments for us all to enjoy.
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