"Remember, Remember, the 5th of November"

There is a very well-known poem in the U.K. that goes like this:
"Remember, remember
The 5th of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot,
We see no reason why
Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot."

November 5th is a very special day, Guy Fawkes Day, in the U.K. Sometimes it is also called Bonfire Day or Bonfire Night. It is an annual celebration that began in 1605, when a plot was foiled that involved blowing up the English Parliament and King James I.
At that time, the Roman Catholics felt that the government was treating them unfairly, and they had hoped that, when James I became king, he would change some of the unfair laws, but instead, he instituted even more laws against the Catholics. The Catholics had to practice their religion in secret, and they were fined if they did not attend a Protestant church on Sundays or on holidays.
In retaliation, a number of Roman Catholic conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, decided to blow up Parliament on the opening day of the 1605 session, which would be presided over by James I. The conspirators put barrels of gunpowder in the basement of the Parliament building and left Guy Fawkes there to watch over it and light the fuse at the right time. However, on the morning of Nov. 5th, Fawkes was discovered and arrested.
In celebration of his survival, King James ordered that people in England should have a great bonfire on that night.
(Beginning the next year, and continuing even today, on the day of the first session of Parliament, soldiers search the basement of the Parliament building with candle laterns.)

Today Guy Fawkes Day is widely celebrated with fireworks and bonfires. It is common to throw effigies of Guy Fawkes on the bonfires. People through the years would refer to the effigies as "Guys", thus the beginnings of our present word, "guy".

We have seen fireworks for about a week. When driving through the countryside, we have seen fireworks all around. There is no regulation about setting off fireworks in the towns (a city like London may be different), so many of our neighbors have shot fireworks in their yards. There are even fireworks businesses within the larger city of Bristol. I guess the fire hazard is not great because everything is generally wet here!
Last night we could see a bonfire from our bedroom window, and we could see really good fireworks. The following are two photos that we took from our bedroom window.




There are even traditional foods eaten during this time----bonfire toffee, toffee apples, and baked potatoes cooked in the bonfire. I had been seeing the apples in the grocery stores lately, but I didn't know about the tradition until this week.

Our housekeepers seemed really surprised that I had never heard of Guy Fawkes Day before!

Evidently, since the English do not have a 4th of July, this is their time for fireworks!