Halloween and Bonfire Night

Halloween in England is becoming more and more Americanized. We actually had a few trick-or-treaters show up at our door this evening. Paul said he never remembers celebrating Halloween before and certainly had never seen trick-or-treaters appear at his door. Instead, as a kid, he celebrated Bonfire Night on November 5th.

The history goes something like this. In 1605, thirteen young men planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament. (See, terrorism is not a new phenomenon – it goes back a long, long way!) Anyway, Guy Fawkes, one of Britain’s most notorious traitors, was among these men. On November 5, 1605, their “Gunpowder Plot” was foiled and Guy Fawkes was caught, tortured and executed. On the very night that the plot was foiled, bonfires were set alight to celebrate the safety of the King (as he had planned to appear at Houses of Parliament when it was due to blow up). Since then, November 5th has become known as Bonfire Night. The event is commemorated every year with fireworks and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire.

Anyway, back to the traditions that Paul grew up with. Preparations for Bonfire Night celebrations went on for a whole week or so, when kids would make up their own dummy of Guy Fawkes (which they called “the Guy.”) They would then set their dummy outside their front door, alongside a jar asking passer-bys for “a penny for the Guy.” Whatever money was collected during the week was then used to buy fireworks for Bonfire Night. On the night itself, “the Guy” is placed on top of the bonfire, which is then set alight, while fireworks go off all around the city.

For a variety of reasons, Bonfire Night is becoming less and less common, while Halloween, with all its American influences, is becoming more and more popular.