Remember, Remember, the fifth of November
One of my favorite British traditions is Bonfire Night. The night we celebrate the failed attempt by Guy Fawkes to blow up the Houses of Parliament and King James I.
Childhood memories
To me as a child, and even now, it signals the start of winter and the upcoming Christmas season. A weekend or so before the clocks would change to signal the end of daylight saving hours, the evenings would start to draw in, it would be getting darker earlier in the afternoons and the first hint of coldness would be in the air. It’s the first time when you start to feel the excitement of what is ahead in December.
I can still remember the excitement as a child, being allowed to have a sparkler or two to wave around and make pretty pictures of light in the sky. Oohing and aahing at the Catherine wheels and rockets as they set the sky alight. The warmth of the bonfire on a cold November evening. Eating hot dogs, drinking soup and having too many sweets in celebration.
In more recent years whilst still in the UK, my Bonfire Night memories move to being in the back garden of a pub. The soup replaced with a pint of beer or glass of wine, catching up with friends and neighbours as we celebrated an event from over 400 years ago.
The Gunpowder plot
A religious disagreement led to Guy Fawkes and a small group of allies hatching a plan to blow up King James I and The Houses of Parliament. They placed 36 barrels of gunpowder in the cellars under The Houses of Parliament. One of the members of the group tipped off a friend asking them to stay away from Parliament that evening. The letter was discovered and the plan thwarted. When the plan failed, the public celebrated by lighting bonfires across London.
The day was declared a national day of thanksgiving and the tradition of lighting bonfires continued for the centuries that followed. One of traditions that has changed slightly over time is the burning of effigies on the fire. Traditionally a straw effigy of Guy Fawkes was made and placed on the fire to signal his continuing punishment. However, over the past 10–15 years guys have been replaced by effigies of unpopular politicians or pop culture figures.
Celebrating this year
2020 celebrations in the UK are likely to be different this year due to the pandemic. Just like my family and I try to do here in the US, I know a lot of Brits will be trying to mark the occasion as best we can.
We will have a small bonfire in the backyard, with just the 5 of us. We will have hot dogs, soup, jacket potatoes outside wrapped up in our hats, coats and gloves. If we have any fireworks leftover from 4th July, we will have our own display and try and recreate the magic I felt as a child for our own children. I will recount the story of Guy Fawkes to them, teach them the rhyme that has stayed in my head for 40 plus years. So they too, can continue this long British tradition and enjoy their heritage.
Remember, remember, the fifth of November, Gunpowder treason and plot, We see no reason, Why Gunpowder treason, Should ever be forgot ….
