Many countries have national commemorations that may seem
unusual to non-natives. In Iceland, there's Thorrablot ("a north Germanic sacrificial celebration of a winter or weather spirit named Thorri"), and Finns celebrate St. Urho's Day (celebrating the saint who chased the grasshoppers out of Finland).
In that context, Guy Fawkes Day
-- dedicated to the man who failed to blow up the British House of Lords in 1605 --
doesn't seem so unusual.
Fawkes was a disgruntled (aren't they all?) former ensign in the Royal
Navy who intended to kill King James I
and most of England's Lords in order to restore Catholic rule to the U.K.
Fortunately for James, the plot fizzled when some of the conspirators spilled the beans.
Unfortunately for
Fawkes, he was arrested and tortured.
The authorities had intended to hang him as well, but he jumped
from the gallows and broke his own neck before the executioner had the chance
to hang, draw, and quarter him. (His co-conspirator wasn't so lucky, and were drawn and quartered
while still alive.)
Brits will remember Fawkes tonight by burning effigies
of him in blazing bonfires
and by setting off fireworks
throughout the remains of the Empire.
For all he did, though, Fawkes's greatest legacy may be in giving his name to
the term "guy."
Suggested Sites...
- The Misunderstood Legacy of Guy Fawkes - The Atlantic examines how we think of Fawkes today.
- Guy Fawkes Day Cards and Coloring Pages - 'cause there's nothing the kiddies love more than attempted mass murder and drawing and quartering.
- Guy Fawkes Day Sayings and Chants - get into the spirit of the day: "Up a ladder, down a wall, will you give us a cob o' coal!"
- The Gunpowder Plot: Parliament & Treason 1605 - the official government report on the plot, with archival documents.
- BBC: What If the Gunpowder Plot Had Succeeded? - it wouldn't have been pretty.
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