Bonfire Night
Remember remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot!
I see no reason why gunpowder treason,
Should ever be forgot!
Every Nov. 5, something peculiar happens across Britain. Everyone lets off
fireworks and stands round as big a fire as they can make, eating apples covered
in chocolate and treacle-toffee that can break teeth. Pets are kept inside,
families spill outside and eyes are directed up at the sky or
deep into the orange glow of flaming old chairs and kindling.
Some of the fires have effigies on top — most commonly of a chap named
Guy Fawkes. It's a tradition that has existed for centuries, one that — as
the rhyme goes — has origins in gunpowder, treason and plot....
On the night of Nov. 4, 1605, Guy Fawkes and 12 fellow conspirators prepared
to blow up the Houses of Parliament during the state
opening by James I. Their hopes that James would be more tolerant of their
Catholic faith than his predecessor Elizabeth were not being realized, and
assassinating the king seemed like a good answer. So, they packed the basement
with 36 barrels of explosives, aiming to kill the king and hopefully the Prince
of Wales and other royals. But thanks to an anonymous tip-off letter,
the plot was foiled, and Guy Fawkes — who was not the organizer of the
conspiracy, just a participant — was found in the basement with a fuse
in his pocket. He was imprisoned and tortured with his fellow conspirators
before being executed on Jan. 31, 1606.
So the story goes, along with quibbles over details and revisionist accounts
in recent years that suggest the conspirators were agents provocateurs looking
to discredit the Jesuits, or that question the nature of the supposed tip-off
letter. Whatever — the details don't matter. What does is that for nearly
400 years, the country has celebrated the day the plot was foiled.
The celebrations started in London on Nov. 5, 1605
the day after Fawkes' capture. Until 1859
they were supported by an Act of Parliament that appointed Nov. 5 as a day
of thanksgiving for "the joyful day of [the king's] deliverance." (The
yeomen of the guard still conduct a ceremonial search of Parliament
an hour before the state opening.)
The day is no longer a public holiday, but nearly all towns and cities still
have some form of Bonfire Night celebration, as well as private events. Every
year, the fire services warn that dangerous, unsanctioned bonfires will not
be tolerated, and school kids are reminded of the particulars of the Fireworks
Code (despite it being illegal for under-18s to buy them). Some towns
take their celebration very seriously. Lewes,
East Sussex, prides itself on its well-known celebration, which attracts tens
of thousands of people and, in addition to bonfires and fireworks, includes
a torchlight procession and the flinging of flaming tar barrels into the river
Ouse. Lewes' particular enthusiasm has religious origins — 17 Protestants
were martyred there under James' Catholic mother, Mary Queen of Scots.
The actual reason for Bonfire Night, though, has faded like a Roman candle.
For many years, it was a celebration of Fawkes' capture — a denunciation
of popery and a rejoicing in the king's life being saved. But a growing number
of people see the monarchy as archaic, and religion doesn't even figure in
most people's lives now. Furthermore, sectarianism has caused a lot of bloodshed
in the British Isles. Since these are three central elements of the Gunpowder
Plot, why does Britain still celebrate it?
In 1997 a Roman Catholic priest in Lewes spoke out against the tradition,
describing the continuing ritual of burning effigies of Catholics as "moral
racism". Perhaps to excuse the sectarian origins, there have been attempts
to link Bonfire Night with the Celtic new year, Samhain (which, however pronounced,
is not pronounced "Sam
Hain"). Bonfire Night — or rather, the reason for it — has also
tried to move with the times. Lewes Bonfire Council claims that "what is chiefly
celebrated is a pride in freedom and independence, stemming from an innate
dislike of being dictated to by outsiders." The Lewes procession includes effigies
of contemporary unpopular figures: Last year saw George W. Bush and Winnie
the Pooh (a protest against Disney's pursuit of full character rights), and
in the past effigies of Bill Clinton , Margaret Thatcher and Osama Bin Laden
have all been burned, along with Guy Fawkes and the Pope.
Notably, many effigies on fires in Lewes and elsewhere are of politicians
and leaders, suggesting people share Guy Fawkes' anti-establishment views.
The religious motivation is conveniently forgotten, and the focus is on expressing
dissatisfaction with people in charge. It would be surprising if no-one this
year took the day as an opportunity to burn Blair and Bush....
However the celebration is interpreted, above all, Bonfire Night is British.
Other celebrations, such as Halloween and Christmas, are universal, and celebrated
in one way or another in lots of countries. But nowhere else in the world has
Bonfire Night — well, except for New Zealand and parts of Newfoundland,
and even New England up until the mid-18th century, where it was known as Pope's
Day. The origins of Bonfire Night are anachronistic and controversial, but
the date and the activity have since become an example of British distinctiveness.
Just as the United States celebrates its independence on July 4, filling the
sky with fireworks, so Britons do what only Britons do on Nov. 5.
According to "The Oxford Dictionary of British Folklore," "throughout
recorded history, it has taken very little persuasion to get English people
to make a bonfire." There is something very primal — and ironically very
pagan — in congregating round fires. Most people seem willing to
ignore the polemic nature of Bonfire Night and submit to that basic urge. Who
cares whether gunpowder treason is still relevant when you get to light stuff
and watch it burn?
— Louis Cooke (louis@mintcake.com)
— graphic by Derek Evernden (derek@ocellus.net)
