Pages

Thursday, 3 November 2011

5th NOVEMBER: GUY FAWKES' OR BONFIRE NIGHT IN THE UK




Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day and Bonfire Night, is an annual commemoration on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a Catholic angry by religious prosecution, led the Gunpowder Plot to blow down the Houses of Parliament and bring down England's Protestant monarchy. He was arrested while guarding the explosives. Celebrating the fact that James I of England had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London, and months later the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act 1605 enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure.
Within a few decades Gunpowder Treason Day, as it was known, became the predominant English state commemoration, but as it carried strong religious overtones it also became a focus for anti-Catholic sentiment.
Bonfire Night is a yearly event dedicated to bonfires, fireworks and celebrations. Different traditions celebrate Bonfire Night on different days. Some of the better known Bonfire Nights are: 5 November in the United Kingdom, Canada & Australia; 23 June in Ireland and some parts of Spain as Galicia and Valencia, sometimes known as St John's Eve/Night, a bonfire tradition which also survives in parts of Scandinavia.


Video "THE HISTORY OF GUY FAWKES' DAY":


No comments:

Post a Comment