Guy Fawkes Day: November 5
Guy Fawkes Day is NOT a Public Holiday in UK and its colonies. We treat this day as a festival.
Among a few of the lesser known festivals centred in the British colonies is the Guy Fawkes day. The festival is a celebration marking the foiled gun powder plot that was created in order to overthrow power in the British Empire. The gun powder plot as it is known today was a plan hatched by a large group of Catholic conspirators lead by Guy Fawkes. Guy Fawkes and his men planned to bomb the houses of parliament and kill the then King of England, King James I. Guy Fawkes and his men were caught red handed trying to execute one of their plans. The festival since then has been a celebration of what England was and what it has been since the event had occurred so many centuries ago.
The history behind 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. The critically acclaimed film brought much needed publicizing to this event. Guy Fawkes, the man behind this event however was hailed by his supporters as a man with a vision and how his idea of defeating the government never died although the man himself passed away. The plot itself is remembered by its day, the 5th of November, the starting lines of the “Remember, Remember the 5th of November…” poem.
Guy Fawkes Day Customs and Activities
The celebration for this event generally occurs in the form of fireworks and festivities. There are huge bon fires that take pride of place in the activities on this particular day. Fireworks are often accompanied by rhymes
that have one common mantra, Save the King. Apart from being celebrated in the British mainland, the festival has its followers in older British colonies of Canada, South Africa and also Australia where until the late 1970’s the festival was celebrated with much fanfare.
Some towns of Antigua and Barbuda that used to take part in the festivities could not do so any more due to the fireworks ban. In Canada, the festival has a lot of following especially in the British occupied areas of Newfoundland and Labrador. These areas are teeming with bonfires and fireworks at the time of Guy Fawkes Night. It is in England however that the festivities are at the grandest. People come out on to the streets and celebrate the victory of the Government. The festival which is Over 400 years still seems to have its followers all over the world. With an idea that could last forever, Guy Fawkes Day continues to be celebrated on the 5th of November annually.
