Bonfire Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Night, lights up the skies of Britain every November 5th. Towns and families gather around big fires and watch fireworks, wrapped up against the autumn chill.
The story of the Gunpowder Plot
On the night of November 4–5, 1605, Guy Fawkes was found guarding barrels of gunpowder in a cellar beneath the House of Lords. He was part of a group of Catholic conspirators who planned to blow up Parliament during the State Opening and kill King James I.
Londoners lit bonfires to celebrate the king's escape, and an Act of Parliament soon made November 5th a day of thanksgiving. That law was repealed in 1859, but the bonfires never went away. Traditionally a "guy," a straw figure of Fawkes, is burned on the fire.
How to celebrate Bonfire Night
- Go to an organized bonfire and fireworks display
- Warm up with toffee apples, parkin or jacket potatoes
- Write your name in the air with a sparkler
- Keep pets indoors, as fireworks can frighten them
