Guy Fawkes Day 2024

Guy Fawkes Day, previously known as Gunpowder Treason Day, is to commemorate the day when the death of King James I of England and VI of Scotland was avoided.
In years 1558-1603, during the reign of Queen Elisabeth I, Catholics were persecuted in England. After her death a new King James I of England and VI of Scotland seemed to give the Catholic church followers new hope of freedom but with time that hope faded away. In March 1603 the King gave his speech about Christian union and peace at the same time letting English Catholics know their faith and religion could never reach a state of respect or even tolerance. A month later a proposed legislation was introduced in parliament that put in question the general existence of Catholics in England. Thirteen of the Catholic church followers in England being recruited by Robert Catesby made a group of conspirators and took part in Catesby’s plan of killing the King. The plan, nowadays known as Gunpowder Plot of 1605, was to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of England’s Parliament. Both King with his nine-year-old daughter and the members of parliament were to be present there. One of the conspirators was Guy Fawkes who’s role was to move in close to the House of Lords and gather in his home the explosives that would have been fired later on the night of November 5th 1605. Following the plot Guy Fawkes managed to transport into his house and into the House of Lords itself 36 barrels of gunpowder. However, 10 days before the plot was about to be implemented, an anonymous letter was sent to William Parker, an English peer, informing about the whole conspiration. On November 4th Guy Fawkes was caught guarding the gunpowder. Him and all the other participants of that plan were later to be tortured and killed by either decapitation or being hanged, drawn and quartered.
Bonfire Night is a more politically correct name with a broad range of meanings and one of them is the Guy Fawkes Day commemoration. Calling it this way does not bring the events it originated from and is more acceptable in different societies such as universities, governmental institutions and other associations that don’t want to be accused of discrimination and racism. Generally the holiday is celebrated all across England but also in other parts of the Commonwealth. Depending on place and organizers it can be more or less directly associated to the incident of Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Some people celebrate bonfire night privately, in their own houses (gardens), replacing the bonfire with a barbecue grill. In many places there are fireworks shows and the because of their size the celebrations often have a form of festivals with concerts and food tracks.