Guy Fawkes Day (was Halloween)

[Marsha Goodell <mgoodell@osf1.gmu.edu>]

Poster: Marsha Goodell <mgoodell@osf1.gmu.edu>

Actually, Guy Fawkes Day is the 5th of November.  Guy Fawkes (along with
other Catholics, he's just the most remembered) in an act of terrorism
motivated by religious persecution, plotted to blow up the houses of
Parliment in 1605 with gunpowder (The Gunpowder Plot).  He was captured on
Nov. 4, brought before the Privy Council on Nov. 5th and tortured alot.  He
was executed on the 31st of January in 1606.  I believe all of this is
during the reign of James I.  The whole thing is a really intesting bit of
history.

The holiday commemorates his capture and celebrates his bravery.  The very
nice secretary at my church (who is a Brit.) tells me that they also do
fireworks (a big fireworks display is important, along with the bonfires).
A few years back when my husband and I got married on the 5th of Nov., she
jokingly told me that we ought to have sparklers at the reception because it
was Guy Fawkes day.  (We did, but that's another story.)

-Winifred

At 01:41 PM 10/22/98 -0400, Karen Marsh-Lovvorn wrote:
>
>Poster: Karen Marsh-Lovvorn <marshk@ipas.org>
>
>In modern-day England they celebrate "Guy Fawkes Day" by setting huge
>bonfires and burning "Guy Fawkes" in effigy.  I'm not wholly familiar
>with the historical details, but a British friend told me Guy Fawkes was
>a rabble rouser who made Parliament quite unhappy and got into a great
>deal of trouble with them. Apparently that has evolved into QUITE a
>party over the years!  (A bunch of drunken Brits running around,
>screaming & setting things on fire - sounds like a party to me!!!)  They
>don't celebrate Halloween in Germany or Austria.
<snip>
>
>Kateryn
>

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