jacket potatoes. – Carpy’s Cafe Racers

Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Firework Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain.

In My Great Britain, Bonfire Night is associated with the tradition of celebrating the failure of Guy Fawkes’ actions on 5 November 1605. The British festival is, therefore, on 5 November, although some commercially driven events are held at a weekend near to the correct date, to maximise attendance. Bonfire night’s Sectarian significance has generally been lost: it is now usually just a night of revelry with a bonfire and fireworks, although an effigy of Guy Fawkes is burned on the fire. Celebrations are held throughout Great Britain; in some non-Catholic communities in Northern Ireland^] and in some other parts of the Commonwealth. In the Canadian province of Newfoundland and labrador 5 November is commemorated with bonfires and firework displays,^] and it is officially celebrated in South Africa.

In Northern Ireland, the term “Bonfire Night” can refer to the Eleventh Night celebrations of 11 July. Like 5 November, this Bonfire Night also has its roots in the sectarian struggle between Protestants and Catholics. Unlike 5 November the sectarian significance of 11 July is still strong. It celebrates the Battle of Boyne of 1690, in which the Protestant William of Orange defeated the Catholic James II.

In rural parts of the Republic of Ireland “Bonfire Night” refers to 23 June,St Johns Eve night. It has its origins in a religious celebration and originally featured prayers for bountiful crops. The night is linked to the Summer Solstice or Midsummer Eve Originally fires were lit to honor the goddess Aine as part of a Celtic celebration; the Catholic Church took over the pagan festival and linked it to the birth of Saint John.

So- even though I am thousands of miles from my Motherland, there is always a way to celebrate some of the traditional things where ever you are located.

So, we shall light a bonfire at the back in our garden and have some real Traditional food to celebrate this time of year, although the only thing missing is the fireworks but we have the 4th of July for that.

Lots of traditional things still exist and I like to celebrate them and what better than a nice Bonfire and Food to eat, that is always a sweet deal.

Here is some pics of the traditional grub that us Brits scoff on this day in History.

Jacket potatoes is a Must for Bonfire night, many cool them right in the Bonfire, I have Heinz Beans on mine.

We have Toffee apples too of which I have seen many here.

So, if you want to know how the fireworks like like back home, here is a snippet.

Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot…

As kids we would build a image of Guy Fawkes and then put him in a wheel barrow, Go Kart or a pram and have a cup or tin with “Penny For the guy” written on it and we would collect a few quid to be able to buy fireworks for the evening, you made the bonfire as high as you could and then placed the Guy on the Bonfire and then it was time to light it and the fireworks, as well as have jacket potatoes, Warm soups and enjoy the crackle of the fire and the sound of the air bomb repeaters as they exploded in the sky.

As kids, we would let off fireworks, either at home or, more fun was out with your mates. “Quick- Run”

If you’ve seen “V for Vendetta,” you’re well acquainted with the rhyme about Guy Fawkes, who famously tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament on Nov. 5, 1605. But more than 400 years later, the real-life revolutionary is still remembered today with “Bonfire Night,” also known as Guy Fawkes Night (or Guy Fawkes Day) in the UK.

Why? Why do we need to remember the 5th? And why has Fawkes’ face been used as a mask in a movie, or appropriated by the hacker group known as Anonymous?

According to The Telegraph, Fawkes was caught trying to smuggle 36 barrels of gunpowder into a cellar of the House of Lords in an attempt to completely destroy the building. He was part of a group of Roman Catholic activists attempting to kill King James I, a Protestant, after 45 years of perceived persecution under Queen Elizabeth.

According to Business Insider, a politician tipped off authorities to the Gunpowder Plot and Fawkes was caught in the act. He was interrogated (and likely tortured) at the Tower of London until he gave up his co-conspirators — eight days later.

Fawkes was reportedly hanged, drawn, and quartered for his crimes, with his remains sent to the four corners of the kingdom as a warning to anyone else who tried the same.

The Independent describes Bonfire Night as a celebration of the foiling of Fawkes’ assassination attempt. In 1605, when word spread, the public lit bonfires around London, and the tradition continues today with bonfires, fireworks and the burning of Fawkes in effigy. However, others believe some use the day to honor the failed attempt to murder the royal family.

In the Wachowskis’ 2005 film “V for Vendetta” (and the ’80s graphic novel of the same name), a freedom fighter named “V” (Hugo Weaving) wears a Fawkes mask while rallying support (from Natalie Portman and others) in an attempt to overthrow a futuristic British tyranny.

“Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished,” the character alliteratively explains of his decision to wear the mask. “However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.”

Fawkesian masks have since become a symbol of the “post-modern protest,” according to the Economist. “Hacktivist” group Anonymous rose to worldwide fame in 2008 when it targeted the Church of Scientology’s website while members wore Fawkes masks in online videos.

The Economist reports Anonymous chose the mask for two reasons: To protect their identities (and remain “anonymous”) and because of the final scene in “V for Vendetta,” in which (spoiler alert) a large crowd of people wearing Fawkes masks watch Parliament successfully blown up.

The mask has also been worn by Occupy protestors and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and continues to be a popular Halloween costume today. In short, few have forgotten Fawkes — even if they don’t necessarily know of the Gunpowder Plot.