Who was Guy Fawkes, how did he die and why do we celebrate the gunpowder plot every Bonfire Night?
"REMEMBER, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot."
Bonfire Night is also known as Fireworks' Night or Guy Fawkes Night. It's a British tradition dating back to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when Catholic conspirator Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and King James I. Bonfire Nightis the anniversary of the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot on 5 November 1605.
The plot was centred around a group of Roman Catholic revolutionaries furious at the persecution of their faith in England.
After 45 years of hounding under the reign of Elizabeth I the plotters had hoped their struggles would end but they failed to after the Protestant King James I ascended to the throne.
Warwickshire-born Catholic Robert Catesby and his friends planned to take matters into their own hands and kill the King and his ministers by blowing up the Palace of Westminster during the state opening of parliament.
Why do we celebrate Bonfire Night?
Bonfire Night is celebrated in the UK by lighting bonfires, burning of "Guys" and setting off fireworks.
The celebration was actually enshrined in law a few months after the attempt and remained on the statute books until 1859.
Fireworks are also set off throughout the land as they are powered by gunpowder, representing the explosives that were never used.
Bonfire night in Winchester, England
Guy Fawkes via BBC History
On 5 November every year, the effigy of Guy Fawkes is still burned on bonfires across England in recognition of his part in the failed 'Gunpowder Plot' of 1605.
Fawkes didn't devise or lead the plot to assassinate James I, so why is he still singled out as one of British history's greatest villains more than 400 years after his death?
The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks the signing of the Armistice, on 11th November 1918, to signal the end of World War One. At 11 am on 11 November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years continuous warfare. Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday in November, which is usually the Sunday nearest to 11 November. Special services are held at war memorials and churches all over Britain.
A national ceremony takes place at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London. The Cenotaph stands in the middle of the road in Whitehall (part of London for those who are wondering). It was designed by Sir Edward Lutyens and erected in 1919. It is a bare stature save for the carved wreaths on each end and the words “The Glorious Dead” as chosen by the author Rudyard Kipling. To me seeing the Cenotaph in the middle of the road paying homage to the war dead was certainly a stark reminder of the destruction man can cause. I must have walked past it at least ten times, stopping each time, thinking.
The Cenotaph located in Whitehall, London. Taken September, 2010.
The first such modern ceremony was held on 11 November 1919, following a suggestion by King George V for a two-minute silence across the United Kingdom and a ceremony to take place in London. Thousands had gathered around the wood-and-plaster Cenotaph in Whitehall, where Prime Minister David Lloyd George walked from Downing Street to place a wreath. Every year the Queen lays the first wreath at the Cenotaph.
The poppy symbolizes hope and life. Flanders Fields which is located in the western part of Belgium saw some of the most bloodiest and concentrated fighting during World War I. Complete and utter devastation as buildings, homes, roads, trees and everything in it’s path were decimated. Where homes once stood contained a sea of mud, the graves of the dead although men still lived and fought among their fallen comrades. Ironically, the poppy was the only living thing that survived from that area, therefore a symbol of survival, life, hope and reassurance to the brave men still fighting.
A Canadian doctor serving with the Canadian Air Force was so touched by what he witnessed he penned a poem called Flanders Fields. Dr. John McCrae published his poem and the poppy soon became a popular symbol for those who perished in battle.
Lest We Forget Poppy
In Flanders Fields:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky, The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.
Libraries in the UK are loved, valued and were visited an astonishing 265 million times last year! Libraries are a vitally important public service, and each year hundreds of events are held to celebrate them on National Libraries Day in the United Kingdom. That National Libraries Day ( #NLD16 ) was on February 16. As for Spain, we should announce that in Spain Libraries Day is celebrated on 24th October every year. To commemorate it in IES Turgalium, we are going to watch a short animated film: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. I hope you enjoy it!
Libraries in the UK are loved, valued and were visited an astonishing 265 million times last year! Libraries are a vitally important public service, and each year hundreds of events are held to celebrate them on National Libraries Day in the United Kingdom. That National Libraries Day ( #NLD16 ) was on February 16. As for Spain, we should announce that in Spain Libraries Day is celebrated on 24th October every year. To commemorate it in IES Turgalium, we are going to watch a short animated film: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. I hope you enjoy it!
