Every place in the world has their own traditions concerning Christmas. The Philippines is no exception. Here, people stay up until midnight to open gifts. There's caroling, singing by videoke, and general partying. Many people are up all night.

One thing has been bothering me for at least two months: Noise makers. No, I'm not talking about people making noise in general. I'm talking about devices made from several cans put together, end-to-end. One outside end is left open, while the other outside end is closed with a tiny hole in the middle. They put rubbing alcohol through that small hole and then use a lighter next to the hole. The result is a loud bang that comes from the opposite end when the alcohol ignites. Some sound like rifles while others sound like cannons.

The local residents have been using these devices more and more frequently, during the day and even at night. They use them while walking around and sometimes very close to my house. It's annoying as hell, even if it is harmless. There are no local "peace" laws, so we really can't do anything about it. I'm tempted to start walking up to the people that have them, taking their noise makers away and breaking them into small pieces. My wife said I can't do that — I might get in trouble. One of my nephews and one of my cousins are guilty culprits too.

Oh well, I guess I have to grin and bear it.