So today in the UK we celebrate Guy Fawkes Day – and it's kind of a big deal over here. Guy Fawkes is the only English criminal ever to have a holiday named after him. Have you ever heard of Sweeney Todd Day or even Jack the Ripper Week? Exactly.I don't know how much the rest of the world knows about Guy Fawkes so at the risk of insulting your intelligence, here's a brief history:
Guy Fawkes (1570 – 1606) belonged to a group of Catholic restorationists from England who planned the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Their aim was to displace Protestant rule by blowing up the Houses of Parliament while King James I and the entire Protestant aristocracy and nobility were inside.
Fawkes was put in charge of the Gunpowder Plot's execution on 5 November. He was arrested a few hours before the planned explosion, during a search of the cellars underneath Parliament prompted by the receipt of an anonymous warning letter. He was then tortured until he gave the names of the other plotters and they were all hanged.
Guy Fawkes Night (or Bonfire Night) is a commemoration of the plot during which an effigy of Fawkes is burned on a bonfire, often accompanied by a fireworks display.
That's right, we get fireworks! And sparklers! And bonfires to burn things on! (great for pyromaniacs) And parties! And lots of yummy food and drink!
And it's all thanks to Mr Fawkes and his team. Although I kind of wish they'd succeeded in blowing up Parliament. That probably makes me unpatriotic (and now quite likely to be arrested) but I just think it would've made history a lot more interesting, rather than learning about something that didn't quite happen.
In fact, in 2002 Fawkes was voted #30 in a Greatest Britons poll so I think that means a lot of people agree with me. If we all hated him for what he (almost) did then we wouldn't have put him on that pedestal!
Wow, the English are f*cked up.
Happy Bonfire Night to anyone who's celebrating!
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24 voices in my head:
Ahhh... I've read about this! Just never got around to understanding it. heh.
I know about it b/c I used to read a lot of Enid Blyton as a child so I'd read about Guy Fawkes day. I wish we had a holiday as awesome as that. Screw Thanksgiving! I want to burn a radical terrorist in effigy!
A big fan of your blog though I haven't been on much. I've given a blog award. It's on my blog. Please check it out. Thanks. :)
wow. i never knew... who says reading blogs doesn't expand your knowledge right?
wow it sounds like alot of fun!!!!!!
Awe! I want to be in England! I'm going to watch V for Vendetta, and hopefully celebrate that way. haha.
Yay! Have fun!
Nashe - Well I hope I've helped you to understand it a bit better! I like to impart knowledge :)
Sadako - I wish we had Thanksgiving in the UK! But I wouldn't trade, haha.
Avery - Thanks so much for the award!
Girl in Stiletto - Glad I taught you something! And yeah, I'm amazed at how much I've learnt from reading blogs by people around the world, too.
Amy - Thanks. It is :)
Nicole - I've never seen that movie, but hope you enjoy it!
Rosa - Thanks, I will!
Glorious! I knew the poem but didn't really get it until seeing V for Vendetta and then just had to do more research. Silly Brits!
That's it! I'm lobbying for Ned Kelly day here, where we can run around in metal helmets and shoot each other in the legs.
Last man standing gets a meat tray.
Thank you for the History lesson.
Very intersting to learn about other countries, thank for the little page of history.
I get it now, sounds a lot like our 4TH of July when we kicked the bloody Bri... uh... We get fireworks too!!
I love bonfires and yummy food and drinks. Happy Guy Fawkes day!
I have heard the Guy Fawkes story before, and always thought that Brits celebrate something that almost happened because they don't get to have an Independence Day like we do. BTW if you like the Guy Fawkes story, you should watch "V for Vendetta."
Mrs Soup - I know! As I was explaining it I was thinking, wow, this makes us sound crazy! Haha!
ScoMan - I think Ned Kelly day sounds like a brilliant idea. Get on that.
Warrior - You're welcome.
Caro - No problem. Glad you found it interesting :)
Jeff - Um yeah, kind of like that! Hehe.
Andhari - Thank you :) Come join me!
Mrs B - I HAVE to watch that movie, you're the third person who's mentioned it now!
I love bonfire night, it should be a bank holiday!
He was the last man to go into parliment with a good idea and needs remembering with a day off work!
Wow, that is just sooo interesting! And fireworks and sparklers?! That's so fun. GOtta take a picture for us. We just had a fireworks ban in my city so I think New Year's Eve is going to be a boring one here.
I am clearly living in the wrong country...
Now I really want to watch V for Vendetta =) Hi, by the way!! I've missed your blog!
We do have Guy Fawkes day here in Aus, we just don't celebrate it anymore. My mother and her siblings did decades ago, but not now.
I wish the United States could have a holiday for each person, or corporation that has fucked our country. Would not be enough days in the year. lol
Fleur - Definitely! I agree!
Mel - A fireworks ban? That sucks!
Jewels Diva - I wasn't sure if you still celebrated it or not. Thanks for clearing that up :)
Cheryl - Clearly. Come over here!
Auri - Hey, welcome back! I missed you!
LadyGaga - Like who?
Haha, in my AP European History Class in high school we went out to the parking lot to burn a paper Guy Fawkes effigy. I'm pretty sure my teacher didn't get permission for this little foray into arson and got in huge trouble for it!
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