Bonfire ()
Remember, remember, the fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot.
We see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
November 5th is Bonfire Night! Time to toss a straw man on the burning pyre, enjoy some fireworks and nosh a potato or try some soup.
For those of you stationed in England, Bonfire Night (also called Guy Fawkes Day or Fireworks Night) is a conflagration of an event that you won’t find elsewhere. It is in fact, and we are nitpicking here, a commemoration and not a celebration. But that’s neither here nor there to most celebrants. Bonfire night is a fiery, fun fall tradition that should not be missed.
How did this observance come about?
Way back in 1605, the Gunpowder Plot was born. Guy Fawkes, an English Catholic was part of a group of 12 other men who planned to blow up the House of Lords on the day that King James opened Parliament for the year. They hoped to kill the king, kidnap his daughter Elizabeth and install her as a Catholic puppet queen.
At the time, religion was dividing much of Europe into Protestant and Catholic factions. James I was Protestant and began his reign indicating he would be tolerant of Catholic practices; his mother Mary, Queen of Scots and wife Anne of Denmark had been Catholic after all. However, assassination attempts on his life by clergy caused him to exile priests and enact harsh fines or outlawry for people who refused to attend services at the Protestant Church of England.
In the wake of this, the Gunpowder Plot conspirators leased an ‘undercroft’ storage area that ran below the House of Lords in the Parliament building. The jumble of overlapping buildings and passages around Parliament was not unique in London at the time. That summer, the men placed 36 barrels of gunpowder in the undercroft and waited for the opening of Parliament which was delayed until November 5th due to a plague outbreak.
Amazingly, one of the conspirators (it is assumed) got cold feet realizing there would be Catholic sympathizers and innocent people also killed in the massive explosion. With only a few days to spare, an anonymous and cryptic letter was sent to one such sympathizer indicating there would be a “…terrible blow this Parliament…” The entire area was searched twice, and Guy Fawkes was discovered in the early morning of November 5, waiting by all that gunpowder with fire-starting materials.
On November 5, the king did not attend the State Opening of Parliament. That evening bonfires were lit to celebrate the king’s safety, and the day became an official day of thanksgiving.
Guy Fawkes was arrested, tortured, and eventually confessed revealing the names of his co-conspirators. They were tracked down, tried and found guilty of treason. All but two, who died of illness and accident, were hung, drawn, and quartered at the end of January 1606.
To this day, the cellars below Parliament are searched prior to the yearly state opening. And the bonfires continue. An effigy Guy, typically made of straw-stuffed clothing, is led through the streets while chants are recited. Some recent celebrations have found the typical Guy figure replaced with effigies that make political or other statements.
In some towns, a fair accompanies the festivities with live entertainment, vendors and even children’s rides. People mingle, eat and cozy up with hot beverages in mittened hands. Eventually, the fireworks go off and Guy is tossed on the bonfire.
In 2023, most Bonfire Night celebrations will take place on Saturday, November 4.
