Bonfire Night
It’s Bonfire Night here in the UK which is also known as Guy Fawkes Night. You may know that this peculiarly specific holiday commemorates the gunpowder plot where Guy Fawkes tried, and failed, to explode the Houses of Parliament and kill King James VI or I and most of the government along with him.
We celebrate the anniversary of the discovery of the Gunpower Plot in the UK with bonfires and fireworks, often with “a Guy” figure made of old clothes and straw on top of the bonfire. It’s kind of like a scarecrow but with a much more short lived purpose!
The celebration was originally intended to be a bit of a warning to potential treasonable sorts, and something the rather bloodthirsty public could enjoy. Remember we still had public executions back then that were very well attended and used as entertainment!
The plot was uncovered after one of the conspirators tried to warn a fellow Catholic Lord not to attend parliament on the 5th November. Guy Fawkes was the man left behind in the room under parliament whose job was to set fire to the many barrels of gunpowder they had stashed there. In the end he was the man caught there and it became his name to be synonymous with the Gunpowder plot.
It’s possible that one of the reasons Bonfire Night has stayed in the public mind is because of the clever little rhyme that helps commemorate the event. Well, it certainly didn’t hurt did it as we still celebrate over 400 years later!
Remember, remember the 5th of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot
