A Penny for the Old Guy

As our British readers out there know, today is Guy Fawkes Day! There aren’t many things from 1605 that are still celebrated, if even remembered, by your average person, but November 5th is one of them. From Wikipedia (with more here):

Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual celebration (but not a public holiday) on the evening of the 5th of November in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, Canada, some parts of the USA, and formerly Australia. It celebrates the failure of the Gunpowder Plot, in which a group of Catholic conspirators attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London on the night when Protestant King James I (James VI of Scotland) was within its walls – the evening of 5th November 1605. Some believe the proximity of the event to the pre-Christian festival of Samhain Eve and Halloween are notable, but it is generally agreed that this is a coincidence.

The celebrations, which take place in cities, towns and villages across the country, involve fireworks displays and the building of a bonfire, upon which is burnt an effigy representing the most famous of the conspirators, Guy Fawkes. Children build popular or humorous dummies and beg for money with the chant “penny for the guy” (the latter tradition is no longer as popular as it once was). The night is closely associated with the popular rhyme which begins:

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot,
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

Despite the nature of the events commemorated, little political or sectarian significance is attached to Bonfire Night in modern times. The later verses of Remember, remember…, which express violent anti-Catholic sentiment, are not widely recalled. Bonfire night is now just as celebrated within Britain’s Catholic communities. The once common practice of burning effigies of the Pope is now largely discontinued (except at Lewes, where the night has additional significance).

And lastly, for anyone reminded of TS Eliot’s quoting the title of this post in his poem The Hollow Men, here’s a link to it. Have a great celebration everyone!