1.Blown things up on the 4th of July,
2.gone begging for candy door to door but.......
3.didn't do diddly squat to pay homage to poor old Guy Fawkes.
When I moved to England I had never heard of Guy Fawkes, nor knew of any sort of celebration in his honor. I would like to take the next 20 minutes of my life (with my husband as my historical sherpa) to enlighten you and perhaps bring you a better understanding to the CRAZINESS that is the foundation of many English traditions including an evening dedicated to Mr. Fawkes.
Here goes:
Once upon a time (I'm pretty sure it was 1649) James I was king of England and he was either Catholic or Protestant (don't know which). Guy Fawkes didn't like James I because he was of the opposing religion (as was his gang). So the big group of anti-Jamesters planted a shit load (Matt's words) of explosives under the Houses of Parliment. The scheme was rumbled by James' gang and Guy Fawkes was burned at the stake.
350 year on, The English no longer plant explosive things under Parliment, but they DO build massive bonfires in public places to mark the occasion and even chuck effigies of Guy Fawkes onto said flames. They also let off fire works as a re-enactment of what could have been and give sparklers to the kids.
All in all Guy Fawkes night is the British version of Independence Day, but the effigy stuff - taking it to the extreme. I have just been told that there is no food associated with said night. Typical. This may need to be changed if I continue to live here. I might recommend Mexican (it can be explosive).
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3 comments:
What use is a holiday without traditional food? Why even bother? BOOOO, Guy Fawkes Day, BOOOO!
My sentiments exactly - a bit lame. Not only have they no food - but no traditional drink either - although I think it is tradition to drink alot. I need my rules and guidelines for holidays so that I know which ones to bend and break.
There is traditional food............baked potatoes baked in the fire;sausages on spits cooked over the fire;damper;baked apples;And by the way......Guy Fawkes was catholic and considered to a loyal and honest and pious man.He converted to catholicism after the influence of his step-father.He was a respected military leader who went and fought for the Spanish (after being in the English army)to help them fight for the right to freely practise being Catholics.This is when he changed his name to Guido.Upon his return he and his friends plotted to blow up the Houses of Parliament because James I wpuld be attending.The reasons for this are as follows....it was widely believed that James would be more tolerant to Catholics than his predecessor Elizabeth I (and the rest of the Tudor kings and queens)but actually turned out to be a lot harsher despite all his promises before he came king.Catholics were tortured and killed if caught practising their faith.
The reason it is celebrated is because once the gang were caught,tortured and hung,drawn and quartered;followed by their heads being displayed on spikes as a warning to anyone else thinking of committing treason;Parliament decreed that the day should be observed each year as a day to remember how Parliament was saved.This is also why heads of state have not attended parliament since except once a year when parliament opens.
Sorry to be so long winded but I was googling for pics for my class project and felt yoy should know the facts:)
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