Fireworks night

Remember, remember the fifth of November,

Gunpowder Treason and Plot,

I see no reason why gunpowder treason

should ever be forgot.

So this weekend is an interesting holiday here in the UK. It's called Guy Fawkes Day/Night, Fireworks Night, or Bonfire Night. You can read about it here. In 1605 a plot was discovered to blow up the parliament building in protest to oppressive legislation towards Roman Catholics. The holiday celebrates the discovery of the plot. So on November 5th people have big bonfires and shoot off fireworks.

Oh, I should mention that in the bonfires they burn effigies of Guy Fawkes, the most famous conspirator. Yikes...that seems a little harsh. Nearer the actual event they also burned effigies of the Pope. Since then the anti-Catholic sentiments of the holiday have faded. Above are the lyrics to a rhyme associated with the holiday. This excerpt also does not include some of the original lines with much more violent remarks towards the Pope. [Anybody read the book "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown? I just finished reading it and learning about this holiday reminded me of some of the more gruesome scenes in the book.]

Very interesting. I suppose our Independence day is in some way "anti-British" but I don't think we ever [symbolically] burned anybody in our fireworks! To be fair to my British friends, I should note Bonfire Night is not actually a public holiday and today it's really just an excuse to have bonfires and fireworks shows.