Tonight there will be bonfires built, fireworks lit and guys burned all thanks to something that happened over 400 years ago.
Everybody knows the basics of the Gunpowder Plot which is behind our bizarre annual traditions, as it was so significant we still bang on about it today.
Guy Fawkes, along with a small band of conspirators planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament as a protest against anti-Catholic laws in the country, a plan which failed.
But how many more of the following facts did you know about Fawkes and the rest of the plot?
Facts you didn’t know about the Gunpowder plot
1. Guy Fawkes wasn’t actually the ringleader of the plot to blow up the House of Lords.
He was just one of a group of 13 men – the leader was one Robert Catesby.
Fawkes was the one who had the job of lighting the fuse, and so it was him that was caught in Parliament’s cellars with 36 barrels of gunpowder.
2. November 5 was initially known as Gunpowder Treason Day and bonfires were lit as a celebration that the King hadn’t been killed.
The King at the time of the attempted murder was James I.
3. The tradition of burning an effigy of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire didn’t start until around the 18th century when reports appeared of kids carrying stuffed figures around and begging for money with them.
Over time, November 5 eventually became known as Guy Fawkes Day.
4. Following his capture, Guy Fawkes was sent to the Tower of London where he endured two days of torture before he finally confessed and gave up the names of his co-plotters.
Once the torturers had finished with him he could barely sign his own name.
5. It was once illegal not to celebrate Bonfire Night in Britain.
Until 1959 it was illegal to not celebrate Bonfire Night in Britain. During this time there was only one place in the UK that refused to celebrate the failed attempt. In respect to their alumni, St Peter’s School in York, where Guy Fawkes attended, was excused from burning a photo of its former pupil.
However, during the first and second World Wars, no one was allowed to set off fireworks or light bonfires. During this time, Bonfire Night was celebrated indoors to protect the people by not showing the enemy where they were.
6. The conspirators were probably betrayed by a traitor – who wrote anonymously to one of the Lords warning him not to go into the House that day – therefore prompting the search in the cellars
William Parker, the 4th Baron Monteagle received the letter on October 26.
7. Guy Fawkes and his fellow plotters were sentenced to death by being hung, drawn, and quartered on 31 January 1606
Guy avoided this grisly fate by jumping off the gallows and breaking his own neck. However, they still chopped him up into quarters and sent his body off to the four corners of the kingdom as a warning to any other plotters.
8. Even today, the Yeoman of the Guard still check the cellars underneath the Houses of Parliament every year before the state opening of parliament.
Just in case.
9. Despite being one of the biggest anti-Protestant figures in British history Fawkes was actually born a Protestant
He didn’t convert to Catholicism until he was a teenager.
10. King Henry VII was the first-ever person to host a fireworks display
During the wedding of the English King in 1486, the first-ever recorded display of fireworks in Britain took place.
This famous wedding, with its fabulous fireworks display, finally united the two warring families of houses of York and Lancaster.
11. Conspiracy theories have been around for a long time, and some thought the plot was either invented by authorities, or allowed to play out till the last minute despite being uncovered earlier.
The Earl of Salisbury has been the one accused of such things, although they were, of course, never proved.
What are some famous Bonfire Night poems?
No list would be complete without the most famous traditional rhyme made about the event. You may be familiar with the first line: Remember, remember, the 5th of November.
Here’s the full version:
Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t’was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli’ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below,
Poor old England to overthrow;
By God’s providence he was catch’d
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holla boys, Holla boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
And what should we do with him? Burn him!
– Unknown
A more family-friendly poem focuses on the modern Bonfire Night celebrations. It goes as follows:
Crackle! Spit!
What is this?
Orange, yellow, red.
Crackle! Spit!
Hotting up,
Flames above my head.
Frazzle! Pop!
Feel the heat
Burning up the ground.
Frazzle! Pop!
Faces glow,
Smiles all around.
Whizz! Zoom!
Up they go
High into the night.
Whizz! Zoom!
Coloured stars
Shining bold and bright.
Zap! Fizz!
Shooting out
Flying really quick.
Zap! Fizz!
See the blur
Dancing on a stick.
– Marie Thom
Best Bonfire Night quotes
Although ‘remember, remember’ is actually a rhyme, that first line is the most famous quote related to the event.
When asked why he intended to blow up Parliament, Guy Fawkes famously replied: ‘A desperate disease requires a dangerous remedy.’
Some other bonfire quotes are as follows:
‘When you do something, you should burn yourself up completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.’ – Shunryu Suzuki
‘Spring is strictly sentimental, self-regarding; but I burn more careless in the autumn bonfire.’ – Sylvia Townsend Warner
‘The bigger you build the bonfire, the more darkness is revealed.’ – Terence McKenna
‘With patience and persistence, even the smallest act of discipleship or the tiniest ember of belief can become a blazing bonfire of a consecrated life. In fact, that’s how most bonfires begin – as a simple spark.’ – Dieter F. Uchtdorf
MORE : How to keep children safe on Bonfire Night
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