Remember, remember, the fifth of November

Sound familiar? I've heard that phrase before, but never knew what it was about. It's from a poem, or nursery rhyme (?), about Guy Fawkes Day, otherwise known as Bonfire Night. I had been forewarned by another American that this is a crazy holiday in England. She was right. Starting around November 1st or 2nd, the English begin celebrating the foiled plot to blow up Parliament in 1605, and continue celebrating for almost a week.

Guy Fawkes and a few other conspirators had intended on blowing up the Parliament building while King James I and his family were inside. At this time in England, anti-Catholic sanctions were restricting jobs, freedom of worship, representation, etc., and Fawkes thought if he killed the King, a new monarchy might be more sympathetic to his religious background. So the plotters accumulated a massive amount of gunpowder over several months and stowed it in some rented cellars under Parliament. (I actually read they had planned to dig a tunnel under Parliament, but decided to rent the available cellars when they couldn't figure out what to do with all the dirt...) An anonymous letter warned the King at the last minute and Guy Fawkes was arrested in the cellar with match in hand. Needless to say, he and the other plotters were dragged through the streets of London to where they were hung, drawn, and quartered as examples for their treasonous plot.

The English love this night, and it has thankfully evolved from the original anti-Catholic bonfire celebrations in Victorian Times to a community get-together. (I actually feel kind of weird about the whole thing in general). Apparently some bonfires in Victorian times featured the Pope on a Catherine Wheel, or other anti-Catholic demonstrations. That's all blown over, of course, and now you just have lots of random bonfires and fireworks. And usually some bloke running across the kindling dressed as Guy Fawkes before the lighting of the fire.

We went to a community bonfire that also featured kiddie rides and a half hour firework show. I was not prepared for the size of the bonfire- we're talking absolutely huge! It seemed really unnatural to be close to so much fire. And the fireworks display was a little crazy, too. I can't say I've ever seen a 4th of July show go on as long as this one did. We were so close to the staging area, too, that debris rained on us the entire time. Quentin and Mallory loved it.

The fireworks have been everywhere almost every night since. Tonight, November 10th, is the second night of Divali, the Hindu celebration of lights, so more fireworks are popping in the distance. My kids have gotten accustomed to sleeping through them, so it's not a big deal. I just feel like I'm in a warzone.