Guy Fawkes night is an annual celebration on the evening of the 5th November. It celebrates the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot of the 5th of November in 1605 which a number of conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, attempted to blow up The British Houses of Parliament.
We traditionally celebrate the occasion with fireworks in our back yards. Often organisations eg schools will organise a fireworks gala as a fundraising venture and the fireworks will be staged by a professional pyrotechnics crew. There is often a bonfire and sometimes a guy making competition. Children make scarecrow type figures to be burnt on the fire. However this practice seems to have died out a little in the last 20 years or so.
The above photo shows some of the range of fireworks available in the shops here. Recently the sale of them has been restricted to just the few days before 5th November, and also only to people over the age of 18. As you can imagine there are people who who misuse the fireworks resulting in injuries usually to children. The fire brigade also generally have to answer lots of call outs to scrub fires and other events!
2 comments:
My very British father used to tell me tall tales of Guy Fawkes Nights from when he was a child... I had a morbid fascination with the idea of stuffing old clothes with straw, and hurling them onto a bonfire at the bottom of the garden... He used to laughingly tell me that it was also an excellent way to keep warm in horrible, damp, English November, at a time when those deadly little coal-oil (??) heaters were all they had, besides smoky fireplaces, to heat their rambling old house.
I absolutely LOVE watching fireworks displays, but certainly appreciate the safety issues surrounding them... We here in North America always hear horror-stories associated with July 1 (Canada) and 4 (America) celebrations... Someone inevitably loses a hand, or starts a nasty fire...
But, when used properly and with caution, they can be such a delight.
Enjoy yourselves on Guy Fawkes Night!!
xo CGF
Wow! I've had friends tell me about Guy Fawkes Night before. What a neat and interesting post!
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