Guy Fawkes Night, Bonfire Night, History and Meaning of the Day

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Guy Fawkes Night 2

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Videos

Guy Fawkes Fireworks Warm up Session: London, 2009_

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The 5th of November is known throughout the United Kingdom and some parts of the Commonwealth as Guy Fawkes Day, or Bonfire Night.

This tradition is steeped in history and dates back to 1605 when a man named Guy Fawkes, or Guido Fawkes, attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London with gunpowder, when King James I and most of the Protestant and even some Catholic nobility were inside. 

There were 13 men in total who wanted to blow up the House, with Guy Fawkes being put in charge of executing the gunpowder plot. These 13 were angry about the fact that after Queen Elizabeth's death in 1603, her successor James I was not more tolerant of the Catholic religion and so they decided that to blow them up would be their best solution.

Robert Catesby was the leader of the group, and between them they managed to get a hold of 36 barrels of gunpowder and put them under the House of Lords in the Houses of Parliament. It is believed that as the plot took shape, one or a few of the members decided that too many innocent people would die, so an anonymous letter was sent to Lord Monteagle from the Parliament on October 26th, but it is still not known who sent the letter. Plans didn't change however for the Parliament meeting, but when Lord Monteagle showed the letter to King James he orderd Sir Thomas Knyvet to search the cellars underneath Parliament.

Guy Fawkes was the only one present in the cellars on the night of November 5th and he was found and arrested. He told his captors his name was John Johnson, but over the next few days he was tortured mercilessly in an attempt to extract the truth. He spoke nothing for days and then finally gave the names of his co-conspirators who were already dead or already known to authorities (as some had appeared in arms just before this).

On 31 January 1606, Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators were tried in Westminister Hall and after being found guilty, they were taken to the Old Palace Yard in Westminster where they were to be hung, drawn and quartered. Guy Fawkes jumped to his death when he was hung so that his neck was broken and he wouldn't have to endure the rest of his death. 

The Gunpowder Plot sparked Bonfire Night that still continues today, and even on November 5th 1605, bonfires were lit around the city of London to celebrate the safety of the King. 

Soon the tradition grew to include buring effigies of Guy Fawkes on the bonfires and setting off fireworks. Some communities burn effigies of the Pope as well as Guy, but it is seen as a long standing tradition rather than an expression of hostility. Children used to build their guy a few days before and then take him round the streets and ask 'penny for the guy' to buy fireworks. 

Guy Fawkes is where we get the modern term of 'guy' from, meaning 'man' or 'person'.

The Gunpowder Plot also the origin of the famous English verse: