5th November - Guy Fawkes Day
One festival perculiar to Britain is Guy Fawkes Day which is celebrated every year on 5th November. The festival commemorates the foiled ‘gunpoweder plot’ which was designed to overthrow the English government. Guy Fawkes was the leader of the band which hatched the plot. The plan was to plant a bomb in the houses of parliament and ultimately kill the English king- James I.Guy Fawkes and his men were caught red handed trying to execute one of their plans. Britons therefore celebrate the plot failing and the houses of parliament remaining intact!
History of Guy Fawkes Day
The plot of this foiled gun powder incident can be in detail seen in the movie V for Vendetta that actually made the premise of the entire plot more interesting and brought to focus the entire nature of such an act.The act was viewed as treason and the men were punished by death. Despite being killed for the conspiracy, Guy Fawkes was still held to be something of a visionary and inspirational character; having convinced other people of his reasoning to blow up the houses of parliament. The plot itself is what’s remembered, and is commemorated in a well-known childrens poem.
Guy Fawkes Day Customs and Activities
The celebration for this event generally occurs in the form of fireworks and festivities. Large bonfires are also lit in towns across Britain. Other commonwealth countries also celebrate this festival includeing Canadar and South Africa. Australia also sometimes commemorates this day.
Owing to a fireworks ban, some other territories no longer celebrate the day - including Barbuda and Antigua. The Canadian states of Labrador and Newfoundland often put on the most elaborate Guy Fawkes Day celebrations. The night is often abuzz with the smell of fire and smoke at night. England naturally puts on the large displays! Quite often, large fireworks displays are put on to commemorate the festival, and municipal bonfires are lit. The festival continues to be celebrated, even though it is now over 400 years since the event occured.
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