Our first British festival, Bonfire Night!

Remember, remember, the fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot,

We see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot...

You probably know this quote from the famous (and very recommendable) film V for Vendetta, based on the comic of the same name.

Why am I telling you about this? Well, for those of you who don't already know the story, Guy Fawkes (1570-1606) was an English soldier who was involved in a plot called the Gunpowder plot in 1605. To summarize, he tried to blow up the London parliamentary buildings using nothing less than 36 barrels of gunpowder. His reason? Guy Fawkes was a very devout Catholic, and at this point in history Anglicanism had grown immensely, unleashing the repression and persecution of Catholics in its wake. Just as he was about to blow Parliament into smithereens (with all its representatives inside - otherwise, where would be the fun? ) he was caught. He was executed along with the rest of the conspirators and apart from being hanged, they were also tortured and burned alive beforehand (real gentleman, those British). Bonfire Night is the celebration of his failure. The date has been celebrated since the mid-nineteenth century, with lots of accompanying traditions developing from it. Fireworks are launched and rag dolls symbolizing Guy Fawkes are made to throw on the fire. According to what I've been told, the old tradition has been lost somewhat (or least it has in Leeds). The festival is now mainly an excuse to set off fireworks and drink a few pints around a bonfire. I did the latter in a pub, but I did see some bonfires too. I think Bonfire Night fell on a weekend while I was there, so it was celebrated from Friday to Sunday - or at least that's what they told me...

If anyone who's in Leeds has taken any photos of this celebration, it would be awesome if you could upload them, especially ones of the bonfires.

Enjoy yourselves... responsibly!;)

Here are some photos of Bonfire Night last year - the bonfires and the fireworks are really impressive, so I wanted to show you them. I should add that I didn't actually go to the bonfire, but judging from these pictures, I really should have...

Fantastic, right?

Photo gallery