Guy Fawkes Day, November 5th

Through out Great Britton on the 5th of every November there are bonfires, fireworks and effigies being burned.  Now seen more as a time to get together with family, friends and the community the history of Guy Fawkes day has been much more violent and controversial.  

Today events are put on by charities and community government and are well regulated.  Children, not long ago, would go around asking for money with the phrase "Penny for Guy" to pay for the effigy of Guy Fawkes and the wood for the bonfire that would accompany and burn the effigy.  While the practice of asking for money has fallen out of favor, the making of the effigies has not.  While Guy has been a standard person to burn through out the history of the celebration others have also been used and in some cases over shadowed him.  This is a time of year when people will show their displeasure with the government and important people there in.

The first celebrations were in 1605 the year of the Gun Power Rebellion when Guy Fawkes and several other members of a conspiracy plotted and even started to carry out an assassination attempt of King James I.  Intending to blow up Parliament on the opening day when the King would be in attendance, the group had placed barrels and barrels of gun powder near or under the building.  Early in the morning of the 5th, after the government was tipped off, a search was done of the area and Guy was found guarding the gunpowder.  After being caught and questioned he was sentenced to death but took his own life just prior to the execution.  The reason for the pot was to install a new monarch who would have been Catholic there by bringing England back to the Catholic church.  The strife between the Protestants and Catholics during this time caused many years and conflict.  With this plot being subverted it was seen as a time to show how they had stayed away from the rule of the church as it was seen by the Protestant.  During many times since 1605, the Pope was also made in effigies to go along side Guy in the bonfire though relations have gotten much better since then.

This date has also been used as a time to cause and do mayhem a time to show disobidience to goverment and the rule of law.  Because of this at times there have been crack downs to the celebrations of the day, now mostly there are the problems of childern stealing wood from one bonfire to put on theirs. 

Today there are people saying that the celebration is in a state of decline but it has also been pointed out that this has been said of Guy Fawkes Day before.

Link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night