insideKENT Magazine Issue 32 - November 2014 | Page 20

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT

bonfire night

BY LISAMARIE LAMB

Remember, remember, the 5th of November
The Gunpowder Treason and plot;
I see of no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

It’s a tradition up and down the country that, on
a chilly 5th November every year, the UK
population enjoy standing in a field somewhere
eating hot dogs, drinking hot chocolate or mulled
cider, and watching fireworks fly into the sky.
It's fun to wrap up warm in the winter months
and chat to friends and neighbours in the
community, or others who love the same old
traditions as you do. However, although you
probably know the ancient rhyme about the 5th
November, do you know what it’ really all about?
s
Guy Fawkes was the one who started it all.
It was 1605 and 13 young men hatched a plot
to blow up the Houses of Parliament; Guy Fawkes
(sometimes known as Guido Fawkes) was one
of these men. He was certainly the most
notorious.
James I was king of England, and although it
had been hoped that he would be tolerant
towards the Catholics in the country when he
ascended to the throne in 1603, that hope was
dashed soon afterwards. Catholics were as
persecuted under James I as they had been
under the old Queen Elizabeth I, and gradually
small groups began to rebel. One of these groups

was led by a man named Robert Catesby It was
.
his idea to blow up the Houses of Parliament –
he wanted to show the ruling government that
the time had come to listen. This would certainly
get their attention, especially as they planned to
set the bomb for a time when the king was in
parliament.
One by one, 36 barrels of gunpowder were
placed carefully beneath the Houses of
Parliament. The plan should have worked
perfectly, but for one problem; at least one
member of the gang had second thoughts when
he realised that innocent people would also most
likely be killed in the explosion. He sent an
anonymous letter to Lord Monteagle – whom he
presumably liked – warning him to keep away
from parliament on 5th November. Sensing a
major disaster was about to unfold, Lord
Monteagle showed the letter to the king.
When the king’s guards stormed the cellar to
catch the conspirators, only Guy Fawkes was
present. It was to have been his job to light the
fuse, but he was arrested and executed (brutally
since he was a traitor; he was hung, drawn, and
quartered) before getting the chance.

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Since that day, the reigning monarch only ever
enters the Houses of Parliament on one day a
year (the St ate Opening of Parliament) to ensure
maximum safety for him or her. Even our current
Queen Elizabeth II observes this ancient tradition.
To celebrate King James I’s escape from certain
death, bonfires were lit around the country, and
effigies of the traitor Guy Fawkes were burnt to
show solidarity with the monarchy – a tradition
which continues to this day, even if the meaning
behind it has begun to be forgotten.
The fireworks that we light each year are meant
to represent the gunpowder stored beneath the
Houses of Parliament, and just what might have
happened if Fawkes had had his way and
managed to light the fuse. It is doubtful that
reality in 1605 would have been as pretty as our
favourite rockets, Catherine wheels, and sparklers
that are enjoyed so much today.