Guy Fawkes Celebration
Guy Fawkes Night, more commonly known as Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual celebration but not an official holiday on the evening of November 5th primarily in the United Kingdom.
It celebrates the failure of the Gunpowder Plot, in which a group of Catholic conspirators, led by one Robert Catesby and including Guido Fawkes, attempted to blow up the House of Parliament in Westminster on the evening of November 5, 1605 when the Protestant King James I was within its walls.
The celebrations, which in the United Kingdom take place in towns and villages across the country, involve fireworks (lots of them!) and the building of bonfires, on which "guys", or dummies, representing Guy Fawkes, the most infamous of the conspirators, are traditionally burnt. Before the fifth, children use the "guys" to beg for money with the chant "Penny for the guy".
Guy Fawkes, actually sat at the top of Parliament Hill (where we live) to watch Parliament blow up. Of course, he never saw this because he was unsuccessful!
We would compare this celebration to the 4th of July, but with more fireworks. They were going off for hours last night all over our streets. People were swarming up and down the street going to and from Parliament Hill to view these over the city. If you like fireworks this would be a celebration for you!
The night is closely associated with the popular rhyme:
Remember remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, Treason and Plot,
I see no reason why gunpowder and treason
should ever be forgot.
posted by Chris @ 11:08 PM
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