Confetti

For other uses, see Confetti (disambiguation).

Confetti.

Small boy trying to catch confetti at Folk Festival in Namur, Belgium.

Confetti rains down on the field in the 2006 Rose Bowl post-game celebration

Confetti is a multitude of pieces of paper, mylar or metallic material which is usually thrown at parades and celebrations, especially weddings (and game shows, following the end of a milestone or the occasion of a big win). Confetti is made in a variety of colors, and commercially available confetti is available in imaginative shapes. A distinction is made between confetti and glitter; glitter is smaller than confetti (pieces usually no larger than 1mm) and is universally shiny. Most table confetti is also shiny. While it is called metallic confetti it is actually metallized PVC The most popular shape is the star. Seasonally, Snowflake Confetti is the most requested shape. Most party supply stores carry paper and metallic confetti. Confetti is commonly used at social gatherings such as parties, weddings, and Bar Mitzvahs, but is considered taboo at funerals.

The simplest confetti is simply shredded paper (see ticker-tape parade), and can be made with scissors or a paper shredder. Other confetti often consists of chads punched out of scrap paper. A hole punch can be used to make small round chads. For more elaborate chads, a ticket punch can be used.

In recent years the use of confetti as a cosmetic addition to trophy presentations at sporting events has become increasingly common. In this case, larger strips of paper (typically measuring 20mm x 60mm) in the colors appropriate to the team or celebration are used. For smaller volumes of confetti, ABS or PVC "barrels" are filled and the confetti is projected via a "cannon" (a small pressure vessel) using compressed air or carbon dioxide. For larger venues or volumes of confetti, a venturi air mover powered by carbon dioxide is used to propel significantly larger volumes of confetti greater distances.

A recent innovation at weddings is to use natural petal confetti. This is made from freeze-dried flower petals and is completely biodegradeable.

Confetti also has a listing in the book of Guinness World Records, the current holder of the largest collection, based on some 1,700 unique shapes being Casey Larrain of California.

Etymology and Italian confetti

The English word confetti (Jordan almonds) is related to the Italian confectionery of the same name, which was a small sweet traditionally thrown during carnivals.^[1] Also known as dragée, Italian confetti are almonds with a hard sugar coating; their name can be translated from Italian to mean confit, as in confiture. The Italian word for paper confetti is coriandoli which, it has been suggested, may mean that originally coriander seeds rather than almonds were contained within the sweet.^[2]

By tradition, the Italian confetti (sugar coated almonds) are given out at weddings and baptisms (white coating), or graduations (red coating), often wrapped in a small tulle bag to give as a favor to the guests. For a wedding, they are said to represent the hope that the new couple will have a fertile marriage. The British adapted the missiles to weddings (displacing the traditional rice) at the end of the 19th century, using symbolic shreds of colored paper rather than real sweets.^[1]

A disposable handheld confetti cannon, provides one-time and manually fired blast of confetti.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Etymology and Origin
2. ^ [1]

References

See also

• Sulmona