Guy Fawkes Day
... or Bonfire Night
Yes, another Britishism. If you've seen V for Vendetta, you'll have heard "remember, remember the fifth of November, the Gunpowder treason and plot..." In 1605, Guy Fawkes was one of a group of anarchists arrested for a plot to assassinate James I of England for not promoting greater tolerance for Catholic practices in England. He was caught guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder under the House of Lords. James I had only been king of England for less than two years. The plotters were arrested and later executed (hanged, drawn and quartered) for treason. Effigies of Fawkes were burnt around this time, remembering the event-that-wasn't - a chilling anti-Catholic practice. These days, effigies of celebrities and detested politicos are burnt instead.
This is a very elementary explanation of the Gunpowder Plot. (I've had a lot of interruptions this morning.) When I went to England and learned about the bonfires, I thought it was a fun post-Halloween autumn celebration. Then, I learned about its cruel history in post-Reformation England and changed my mind.
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