Every 10-year-old in the Philippines knows their names by heart - Five Star, Helicopter, Watusi and Judas' Belt. Wrapped in sparkling multi-coloured foil and shaped like rockets, candy cane and ice-cream cones, they are more popular at this time of year than Pokemon, Star Wars and the latest Playstation offering.
Unlike those toys, they can cause severe burns, blow off fingers or even kill - and most casualties are children.
The mystery is that while one person has been killed and more than 100 injured since December 21 this year, and many others in past years, the Philippine authorities still refuse to ban or regulate the sale of firecrackers.
This is despite governments elsewhere in Asia, including China, recognising that they are dangerous, having them banned and closing down the factories. Even Cambodia, perhaps the most lawless Asian country, has stopped their sale.
Filipino officials say that culture is to blame and that they cannot possibly stop the traditional greeting of the new year by letting off firecrackers to frighten away bad luck spirits.
Children, however, do not see firecrackers as good or bad luck - only as toys that make appealing loud noises and showers of colour.