Guy Fawkes/Bonfire Night

One of the reasons Halloween gets a bit of short shrift here in England is that Guy Fawkes Day hits on November 5.

Remember, remember, the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot

Though the holiday was officially on the 5th, there are many fireworks displays over the weekend. We hope to take in at least one of them. Maddie is helping me tonight to describe what Guy Fawkes Day is all about, as she learned about it in school and checked out a library book about it.

Novemer 5 is Bonfire Night. There are fireworks. And on top of the fire sits a dummy that looks like a guy. The dummy is always a dummy model of Guy Fawkes. They burn him in the fire to be happy that he was killed and he didn't blow up the house of Parliament. It happened in 1605. There was a plan to kill the King of England by blowing up the house of Parliament. It was called the Gunpowder Plot. But the plot failed and since then, people have celebrated every year.

In those days, people were told that they had to belong the Church of England. James the I was King and head of the Church of England. Some people who were Catholics were punished for thinking the Pope should be head of the church. Many Catholics were angry with James I because he treated them badly.

A man named Robert Catesby (who was a Catholic) led the Gunpowder Plot. He was known for being a kind man, so he was able to get people to help with his plan. He thought if the King was killed that Catholics would no longer be punished. The idea was to put gunpowder underneath the houses of Parliament and light it the next time the king was there. Guy Fawkes was chosen to light the gunpowder. One of the reasons he was chosen was that he was a gunpowder expert.

The night before King James was coming to Parliament, Guy Fawkes went to the cellar where the gunpowder was, but someone had sent a letter to a Catholic, Lord Monteagle, warning him to stay away from Parliament. And Lord Monteagle told a friend who warned the King. So the plot was found out. The King's guards found Guy Fawkes waiting to light the gunpowder. Fawkes was imprisoned in the Tower of London.

Many of the other plotters fled London when they found out what happened. But it didn't take long for the King's men to find them and kill them.

Guy Fawkes and the rest of the plotters were put to death two months later. The King said that this should never be forgotten. After the gunpowder plot, things got even worse for Catholics. Some people even went into hiding. But today people are free to be Catholic or whatever religion they wish to be.

In the past, celebrations used to be a bit rowdier. Groups of boys used to fight each other for the homemade Guy Fawkes dummies. Some towns have special celebrations where people get all dressed up and carry torches. But fireworks have become a very important part of the celebrations. The powder that explodes is the same kind of powder that Guy Fawkes used in the attempt to blow up Parliament, and it reminds the people of England what would have happened if Guy Fawkes had lit the gunpowder.