Bonfire Night

Remember, remember the 5th of November

Bonfire Night is an annual event which is celebrated on November 5th. The purpose is to celebrate the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, of November 5th, 1605, during which the English Catholics led by Robert Catesby, accompanied with Guy Fawkes and 11 other conspirators, tried to blow up the Parliament.

Today, the day before the festivities every November 5th, Guy Fawkes's effigies are prepared by the children during competitions organised between the various schools, cakes are also prepared and the selected 'Guy' is burned as a symbol, in the name of the city. The bonfires are accompanied by the setting of of fireworks as it gets dark.

Prior to the event passers-by may be accosted by children asking for "A penny for the guy"which fund their fireworks.

In 1533, the King Henry VIII introduce the Church of England and his own religion : the Protestantism. During the next 70 years, England was shunted between the dominance of Catholics and Protestants. In 1605, under the reign of the Protestant King James I, a man named Guy Fawkes who was a fervent catholics couldn’t stand the idea of another Protestant reign. So he decided on the night of the 5th of November to booby-trap the House of Parlement with 36 barrels of gunpowder to kill the king.
Hopefully this day, William Parker also known as Lord Monteagle receive an anonymous letter which said to no go the parlement on the 5th of November. After few researches in the House of Parlement, he discovers the 36 barrels and failed the Gunpowder Plot, arrested Guy Fawkes and tortured him until he had confessed.

They spread out his body pieces around London and used his death as a warning for Catholics or others who wanted to kill the king.