So you guys have the 4th of July as your day to let of fireworks all over the place, and we have the 5th of November – tonight – Guy Fawkes night!
More commonly known as ‘bonfire night’, tonight is a night when everyone goes out into the biting cold and stands around a great big fire, roast horse chestnuts and make whooing and whaaing noises as they watch a firework display.
I don’t know how many of you Americans are familiar with this tradition in Britain, probably none of you right? I mean, why would you. Surely it would be like me asking someone over here when Presidents Day was in America or some Canadian thing right?
Now I appreciate that none of you will really be that interested in the history of the event but allow me, if you will, to take a couple of moments and tell you why we celebrate today, and why we choose to do so with fireworks.
In a nutshell it’s a celebration of the fact that ‘we’ overcame an act of religiously motivated terrorism. Yep, we were overcoming that stuff way before Yahoo Bush came along with his war on terror (had to get a political stab in there didn’t I!).
It was 400 years ago that religiously motivated plotters attempted to blow up The Houses of Parliament during its state opening. The group were well-connected Catholics radicalised by continued persecution under King James the first. Their aim was to kill the King, his heir, and all the bishops and lords, and that by doing so they would throw England into a crisis and thus have the opportunity to put a Catholic on the throne.
The leader, Robert Catesby, found a Yorkshire mercenary calling himself Guido Fawkes who had honed his skills with gunpowder while serving for the Spanish army in the Netherlands. Another of the gang, Thomas Percy, leased a cellar under parliament. Fawkes worked with them, loading it at night with gunpowder from a store on the other side of the Thames. In total they loaded 36 barrels of gunpoweder into the cellar room under the House of Lords in the new Parliament building, that’s two and a half tonnes! However, he was caught on November 4, a day before the state opening, and put under arrest. After six days of being tortured on the rack, he gave full details of the plot, though his injuries were so horrific it was another six days before he could be questioned again. (Sounds like Guantanamo Bay if you ask me.)
Catesby, Percy and two others who had fled north were shot dead. The rest were captured and put on trial for high treason the following January. They were sentenced to be publicly hung, drawn and quartered, a practice that included castration and being disembowelled alive.
Today, in a rather macabre celebration of the fact that the plot failed, we just burn effigies of Fawkes on fires lit on the evening of November 5th. Firework displays light up the sky across the country and due to the cold air this usually leads to a murky fog and smell of fire for the rest of the night. It’s all good fun really, though I wonder how many Brits truly know the depth of the story involved?
Anyway, it’s a great excuse to get together with friends and let of fireworks that make really loud bangs! So tonight that is exactly what I’m doing.
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Wikipedia : Guy Fawkes
Britannia.com : Guy Fawkes
What if Guy Fawkes had succeeded?
Wrote the following comment on Nov 5, 2005 at 5:13 am
sounds like a great time! it’s always fun getting together with friends!
Wrote the following comment on Nov 5, 2005 at 6:45 am
I’m all for any excuse for a bonfire.
Wrote the following comment on Nov 5, 2005 at 7:53 am
I had no idea you Brits were so gruesome.
Wrote the following comment on Nov 5, 2005 at 9:20 am
Thanks for the history lesson.
Wrote the following comment on Nov 5, 2005 at 9:30 am
I think I touched on this a bit in my thesis, as Shakespeare is believed to have alluded to Guy Fawkes in King Lear by some scholars. There are so many lovely conspiracy theories surrounding the blessed event! My kind of holiday. :-)
Wrote the following comment on Nov 6, 2005 at 6:34 am
We had a great night. The rain stayed at bay and we went and watched a fairly good display over a marina looking across to Wales where we could see several other displays taking place. A fun night, not nearly as cold as previous years too which was nice.
Wrote the following comment on Nov 6, 2005 at 6:12 am
Ahh yes, playing with fire is always good family fun. Thanks for the English history. Love it!
Wrote the following comment on Nov 6, 2005 at 2:25 pm
I’m glad you liked that info Karen. I figured some of you Americans might be interested. There are, as ever, some good related links at the foot of the post.
Wrote the following comment on Nov 6, 2005 at 10:00 am
Well, there’s at least one American who knows the history of Fawke’s Night. I’m such an Anglophile.
Wrote the following comment on Nov 6, 2005 at 10:19 am
I learned about Guy Fawkes night a few years ago from one of my friends…I just forgot that it was actually last night, or I would have come by here to wish you a good night sooner. I’m glad it turned out well though.
Wrote the following comment on Nov 6, 2005 at 11:59 am
I’m glad you posted this. I was actually going to look it up because I caught the tail end of a story about it on NPR on Friday – then I forgot. I will probably still read further about the event.
Wrote the following comment on Nov 7, 2005 at 1:20 am
It amuses me when someone like Zach accuses me of hating America while those who know me always go on about my undying love of the country. I’m pretty sure that most people didn’t think I was being snotty, and while educated Zach quoted me in his comment above, he failed to include the sentence; “Surely it would be like me asking someone over here when Presidents Day was in America or some Canadian thing right?” My point, of course, being that why on earth would someone here in the UK know, and to a point even care, about your Presidents day.The historical similarities of the whole event to our current situation with Islam are of course quite interesting. My friends and I talked a bit about that over dinner that night, turns out I wasn’t the only one who had pondered the similarities.With regard to my so called hatred of America, I sincerely hope that I am the worst ‘America hater’ that my honorable friend Zach ever comes across in his lifetime. Come to that, I would hope that for all Americans.
Wrote the following comment on Nov 6, 2005 at 8:20 pm
Jesus H. Christ–enough with your America-hating. We’re not all conservative Bush-loving idiots with big SUVs who are completely ignorant of Britain, Europe, or the rest of the world in general. There are those of us who are educated beyond what you may assume. Afterall, we can’t all spend our time making a living partying it up in bars.While I was glad to read at Guy Fawkes Night, something i’ve heard about but never fully understood, I wish you didn’t say things like “I don’t know how many of you Americans are familiar with this tradition in Britain, probably none of you right? I mean, why would you.” and “Now I appreciate that none of you will really be that interested in the history of the event…” That’s just snotty.With that said, hope you had a really fun night. :)
Wrote the following comment on Nov 7, 2005 at 2:31 am
I didn’t think you were being snotty. However.. with all of the American bashing that does go on with the war and ole Georgie and such, there was a time a few months ago that I began to get offended by every little remark that was made about Americans. I think it was more paranoia on my part than anything.I was happy to read about Guy Fawkes because I got to pretend like I knew something about a British tradition when I spoke to my boyfriend who lives in England this weekend. He was mucho impressed with my knowledge on the subject and now thinks that I’m much cooler than he already did. :D
Wrote the following comment on Nov 7, 2005 at 4:55 am
I have to say I didn’t think his post was snotty either. Skepparkrans response was though.With regard to global anti-American feeling, it has to be said that bush makes it shockingly easy to form very bad opinions that are as unhelpful and narrow minded as believing all muslims are potential terrorists and part of an evil hateful religion. You may not have voted for him but you’ll have to live with what he’s doing in your name, just as we have to live with what prime minister blair is doing in our name too.
Wrote the following comment on Nov 7, 2005 at 12:37 pm
I apologize if my remark was snotty. After giving it some thought, I do think it was. Sorry, Simon. Wookit was right…there is lots of America-hating going on and every once in a while I yell at the next person who says something even hinting that Americans are dumb. I lived in Sweden all summer and heard what an idiot I am for being an American almost every day. Again, I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions, but do try and understand where I’m coming from (no pun intended).