Remember, remember, the fifth of November... As the weather gets colder and the nights get longer, there’s one event that lights up the autumn sky in the UK. Have you already guessed what I’m talking about? It’s Guy Fawkes or Bonfire Night.
Celebrated every year on 5 November, this tradition goes back to the famous Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Guy Fawkes was part of a group of English Catholics who wanted to assassinate the Protestant King James I by blowing up the Houses of Parliament. The group hid 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar under the House of Lords and Fawkes, who was an expert in explosions, was given the job of lighting the fuse. The plot failed because an anonymous letter was sent to Lord Monteagle, warning him to say away from the Houses of Parliament that night. Fawkes was the only one to be caught by guards and was tortured in the Tower of London until he revealed the names of the other conspirators. 5 November was later declared a day of thanksgiving by the King in 1606 to celebrate the fact that the plot had failed.
Nowadays, the night is an explosion of light and sound as thousands of fireworks are set off all around the UK from small neighbourhood events to large-scale spectacular displays for thousands of people. While the skies are filled with colour, people gather to watch with family and friends with warm cups of hot chocolate or mulled wine, and often eating baked potatoes and toffee apples (apples covered in hard toffee on sticks). And don’t forget the bonfires themselves, stacks of wood are set on fire, sometimes with a ‘Guy’, a model of Guy Fawkes usually made with newspaper and old clothes, on top. Some of the bigger events even offer live music, food festivals and funfairs. Whether big or small, the atmosphere is magical and it’s one of the highlights of this time of the year.
So, while you’ve probably heard of this event, here are seven things that you might not know.
1. Guy Fawkes didn't lead the gunpowder plot
While Guy Fawkes is certainly the most famous, the plot was actually led by Robert Catesby and the group was made up of 13 conspirators. Fawkes, who was born into a Protestant family and became a Catholic as a young man, was recruited by Catesby because he’d become an explosives expert while fighting for the Spanish in the Netherlands.
2. It used to be illegal not to celebrate Bonfire Night
It was illegal not to celebrate Bonfire Night in the UK until 1959. Nowadays one place that does not celebrate it is St. Peter’s school in York where Guy Fawkes went to school, as it refuses to celebrate in memory of its former student.
3. It isn’t only celebrated in the UK
As well as throughout the UK, Bonfire Night is also celebrated in some other countries South Africa and in some parts of Canada.
4. The houses of parliament are still searched today
The Houses of Parliament are searched by the Yeomen of the Guard (the Queen’s bodyguard) before the State Opening in November every year. This is more of a tradition than a serious search nowadays, though.
5. Penny for the guy
The tradition of burning a ‘Guy’ on the bonfire was started later and children would often take them around their neighbourhood asking for money with the phrase ‘a penny for the guy’. This tradition is not as strong nowadays as it used to be, but at some events effigies of political figures have even been burned instead.
6. Bonfires
The word ‘bonfire’ is much older than the Gunpowder Plot. It comes from Middle English and means ‘a fire of bones.
7. The bonfire capital
One of the most famous fireworks displays is in Lewes, in the south of England, known as ‘the bonfire capital of the world’. The market town is transformed every year with a variety of lively, torch-lit parades and breath-taking pyrotechnic displays that attract up to 80,000 spectators.
