Remember Remember the 5th of November! Guy Fawkes Day!

Remember Remember the 5th of November. Every year people gather around in early November to celebrate Bonfire Night across the UK. There are firework displays in public parks across the country and people light bonfires with an effigy to represent historical figure Guy Fawkes.

This quintessentially British activity each year refers to an event which could have changed the course of British history almost 400 years ago. In 1605, a group of Roman Catholic activists arranged their Gunpowder Plot, but it failed. At the time, King James I reigned over a Protestant England the group wanted the freedom to practise their religion.

Guy Fawkes, an explosives expert, along with the rest of the group plotted to assassinate King James and blow up the Palace of Westminster during the state opening of Parliament. Fawkes smuggled 36 barrels under the House of Lords into a cellar. However, he was caught and sent to the Tower of London, tortured to give up the names of his co-conspirators and then executed in January 1606 for high treason.

Throughout the years, countries belonging to the British Empire also celebrated his failure to blow up Parliament, but it is still a long-standing tradition to honour this day.

#EMG #GuyFawkesDay #BonfireNight