I was traveling in South America one time on a Christmas Eve, and arrived in a small city just in time for midnight Mass and was surprised to find the good bishop there as the celebrant. He arrived at the pulpit to give his sermon in Spanish just as the clock struck 12, whereupon the locals all over town set off loud fireworks. So loud that one could hardly hear the sermon! Which was too bad, as I had been working on my Spanish and could normally get most of what was said when the speaker was a non-native one. What little I could hear between the nearly constant explosions was very clear and distinct Español. He began with a little bit of a laugh at comical situation, but pressed on as the explosions continued for the duration of his sermon.