5th of November - Guy Fawkes Night
5th of November is the 309th day of the year
Guy Fawkes Night:
Guy Fawkes’ Night is one of our most observed customs, though how we celebrate the events of 1605 – and why – has changed over the years. On November 5th 1605 what would now be called an improvised explosive device, in this case a stack of gunpowder barrels, was discovered beneath the Houses of Parliament on the day that King James was due to open the new sitting. The Catholic plotters were tracked down and killed or arrested, later to be horribly executed. Fawkes, the man due to set off the bomb, has given his name to this day.
We once celebrated November 5th as a gesture of anti-Catholicism, but 400 years and more of political corruption and ineptitude have lent an ‘if only’ air to some parties, Fawkes seen as something of a hero for many. Raucous events in some towns like Lewes continue, but most attend more sedate organised displays of fireworks and a bonfire. Some of us born on this day still insist on lighting the blue touch paper and retiring, however, preferably to traditional bonfire toffee, parkin and Lancashire hot-pot.
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