Guy Fawkes Night

Guy Fawkes Night

Guy Fawkes Night is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November. Its history begins with the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when Guy Fawkes was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. By the 1620s it was then known as the Fifth of the Fifth, and by the 20th century it was the predominant commemoration in the UK.

About Guy Fawkes Night in brief

Summary Guy Fawkes NightGuy Fawkes Night is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November. Its history begins with the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when Guy Fawkes was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. Within a few decades Gunpowder Treason Day, as it was known, became the predominant English state commemoration, but as it carried strong Protestant religious overtones it also became a focus for anti-Catholic sentiment. In the 1850s changing attitudes resulted in the toning down of much of the day’s anti- Catholic rhetoric, and the Observance of 5th November Act was repealed in 1859. The present-day Guy Fawke Night is usually celebrated at large organised events, centred on a bonfire and extravagant firework displays. It was also exported to overseas colonies, including some in North America, where it wasknown as Pope Day. Those festivities died out with the onset of the American Revolution, but some towns celebrate still, albeit peaceably, in the 19th century. In some towns it was honoured in market towns and villages, though it was also honoured in some towns across the country before some years before it was commemorated throughout England. By the 1620s it was then known as the Fifth of the Fifth, and by the 20th century it was the predominant commemoration in the UK, though some towns still celebrate it today.

It is also known as Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night in the United States, and Bonfire Day in Australia and New Zealand, and Pope Day in some parts of Canada and the Republic of Ireland. For more information on how to celebrate the event, or to find out more information about how to get involved, visit the official website of the British National Bonfire and Firework Association (BNF) or go to www.bnf.org.uk/ bonfire-and-fireworks-night. For the full list of events on 5 November, visit the British National bonfire & firework association (BNFA) or visit www.nft.org/bonfire.uk/. For more on the history of 5 November and the 5th of November, see: http://www.bnft.com/Guy-Fawkes-Night-5-November-1605-O.S., or http://www-nft-uk.gov/guy-f Fawkes-night-5th-of-November 1605 O-S.html #storylink=cpy. In 1605 the first year the plot’s failure was celebrated. The following January, days before the surviving conspirators were executed, Parliament passed the Observances of 5th November Act, commonly known as the \”Thanksgiving Act. It was proposed by a Puritan Member of Parliament, Edward Montagu, who suggested that the king’s apparent deliverance by divine intervention deserved some measure of official recognition, and kept 5  November free as a day of thanksgiving.