Bonfire Night
“Remember, remember the 5th November. Gunpowder, treason and plot.” As festivities go, it’s an odd one but one that most British people hold dear.
The night marks the failure of Guy Fawkes and his Catholic conspirators to blow up the Houses of Parliament in Westminster on the evening of 5 November 1605, when the Protestant King James I was within its walls, and is usually celebrated across the UK with fireworks displays and bonfires on top of which a ‘guy’ (a dummy made of rags) is burned. In the past, it was common for local children to use the ‘guys’ to beg for money from their neighbours with a chant of "Penny for the guy", although this is now rarely seen.
While the historical significance increasingly takes a back seat, (and the anti-Catholic elements have long been done away with), Bonfire Night remains an excuse for a big family-friendly celebration as the first nip of winter enters the air. Most towns have a major fireworks display on the weekend closest to the 5th, and some can be quite spectacular.
The night marks the failure of Guy Fawkes and his Catholic conspirators to blow up the Houses of Parliament in Westminster on the evening of 5 November 1605, when the Protestant King James I was within its walls, and is usually celebrated across the UK with fireworks displays and bonfires on top of which a ‘guy’ (a dummy made of rags) is burned. In the past, it was common for local children to use the ‘guys’ to beg for money from their neighbours with a chant of "Penny for the guy", although this is now rarely seen.
While the historical significance increasingly takes a back seat, (and the anti-Catholic elements have long been done away with), Bonfire Night remains an excuse for a big family-friendly celebration as the first nip of winter enters the air. Most towns have a major fireworks display on the weekend closest to the 5th, and some can be quite spectacular.
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