Culture: Bonfire Night

On November 5th British people remember the spectacular attempt to blow up the Houses of
Parliament by celebrating ‘Bonfire Night’. All over Britain there are firework displays and bonfires
with models of Guy Fawkes which are burned on the fire. It’s normally quite cold on Bonfire
Night so people wear warm clothes, hats, scarves and gloves to spend the evening outside.
Traditional Bonfire Night food is jacket potatoes and toffee apples. This year is the 400th
anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot and there are special events being held in London to
remember the events of 1605.

In November 1605 a group of men decided to make a plot to blow up the Houses of
Parliament in London. The men were angry about the way the Catholic people were being
treated in England. At this time the King of England was James the first. The plot is known as
the ‘Gunpowder Plot’ and the leader of the plot was called Guy Fawkes. The men put 36 barrels
of gunpowder in the Houses of Parliament and they waited for the King to open Parliament. Guy
Fawkes was the man who was going to light the gunpowder and cause the explosion. However,
police found the gunpowder before it could be exploded and they caught all the men involved in
the plot. The men were tortured and killed.