One festival perculiar to Britain is Guy Fawkes Day which is celebrated every year on 5th November. The festival commemorates the foiled ‘gunpoweder plot’ which was designed to overthrow the English government.The gun powder plot as it is known today was a plan hatched by a large group of Catholic conspirators lead by Guy Fawkes. The plot was to kill James I - then King of England - and blow up the houses of parliament.Guy Fawkes and his men were caught red handed trying to execute one of their plans. Britons therefore celebrate the plot failing and the houses of parliament remaining intact!
Guy Fawkes History
The plot of this foiled gun powder incident can be in detail seen in the movie V for Vendetta that actually made the premise of the entire plot more interesting and brought to focus the entire nature of such an act. The punishment for the conspirators was to be hanged, drawn and quartered - in other words killed for the crime of Treason. Despite being killed for the conspiracy, Guy Fawkes was still held to be something of a visionary and inspirational character; having convinced other people of his reasoning to blow up the houses of parliament. The plot is drummed into British schoolchildren by use of a little rhyme which begins ‘remember remember, the fifth of November’.
Guy Fawkes Day Customs and Activities
The main event during Guy Fawkes Day is that of fireworks display. Large bonfires are also lit in towns across Britain. The festival is not only celebrated in Britain, but also sometimes in other commonwealth countries such as Australia, South Africa and Canada.
Some towns of Antigua and Barbuda that used to take part in the festivities do not do so any more due to the fireworks ban. The Canadian states of Labrador and Newfoundland often put on the most elaborate Guy Fawkes Day celebrations. When the celebrations begin at night, the air is usually rich with the smell of smoke and fire. England naturally puts on the large displays! It’s not unusual to see people on the street celebrating, and large fireworks displays put on to mark the event. The festival continues to be celebrated, even though it is now over 400 years since the event occured.
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