Guy Fawkes Night is an annual commemoration of the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. To celebrate the arrest, which put an end to the plot on King James I's life, people lit bonfires around London, and months later the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving. Within a few decades Gunpowder Treason Day, as it was known, became the predominant English state commemoration. As it carried strong Protestant religious overtones, it also became a focus for anti-Catholic sentiment; increasingly raucous celebrations featured the burning of effigies of popular hate-figures, such as the pope. Towards the end of the 18th century, children were seen begging for money with effigies of Guy Fawkes. In the 1850s much of the day's anti-Catholic rhetoric was toned down, and by the 20th century Guy Fawkes Day had become an enjoyable social commemoration. Today it is usually celebrated with bonfires and extravagant firework displays. (Full article...)
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