Bonfire Night: who was Guy Fawkes anyway?

Daily News, 1962-11-06. Page 3. 

I’m a Newfoundlander and as a proud Newfoundlander Bonfire Night is about burning shit. Burning the shit right outta shit. You name it, we’ll burn it. From tires to your neighbour’s outhouse, historically, nothing is safe from the bonny fires of November 5th. Some of you may be wondering, “Hey, what is this ‘Bonfire Night’ you speak of? I also like to burn stuff!”

Who doesn’t?

So here’s the deal: Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Firework Night, is an annual commemoration observed on November 5th, primarily in Great Britain. Its history begins with the events of November 5th, 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, also known as the House of Lords.

The Gunpowder Plot was a conspiracy by a group of English Catholics to assassinate the Protestant King James I of England and replace him with a Catholic head of state.

The plot, despite it's badass name, was a total failure.

But King James was so stoked by not being exploded that he allowed the public to celebrate his survival with bonfires, so long as they were "without any danger or disorder". Many fires included an effigy of Fawkes, or "the Guy", as it would come to be known.

Collecting tires for Bonfire Night
From: "Bonfire Night in Brigus", A video documenting the preparation and celebration of Bonfire Night in Brigus, Newfoundland. Directed by Catherine Schwoeffermann

Some Newfoundlanders grew up knowing all about Guy Fawkes. Some of us didn’t know the occasion had anything to do with him until we were old enough to learn about it in school. And as a Canadian kid, I thought it was Guy “Fox”, because Terry Fox, of course.

"Weatherman ruins Everything for Everyone"
Daily News, 1962-11-06. Page 3

Bonfire Night isn’t as popular as it once was, mostly due to bans on open fires in many Newfoundland communities. What was once an opportunity for kids to work together to build a huge fire (THAT COULD SINGE THE BEARD OF ZEUS HIMSELF!!) has been mostly relegated to organized fires put together by municipalities. These events are more likely an attempt to deter random fires than maintain the Bonfire Night tradition.

For me, and many Newfoundland kids, Bonfire Night was an opportunity to roast marshmallows in front of a fire the size of a house. Boy, was that terrifying.

Good times though.  

    "Bonfire Night in Brigus",

 A video documenting the preparation and celebration of Bonfire Night in Brigus, 

Newfoundland. Directed by Catherine Schwoeffermann