Nowadays it's a small celebration with close friends and family in the back garden with some good food and drinks and a few fireworks and sparklers but still worth it every year to keep the tradition going. Many people want to cancel bonfire night home celebrations and restrict them to organised events due to the affect the loud noises and fires have on the wildlife, I only hope that the tradition doesn't get lost when the event becomes more commercialised. I'd really recommend you look at May day, it's a very old tradition in the UK (not actually a labour holiday) in Padstow specifically it's a surviving proto-indo european fertility festival and they go all out like Lewes do on Bonfire night.
I think Bonfire Night has changed over the years. When I was a child it was second only to Christmas in terms of the excitement it would generate. In the weeks before bonfire night I'd be spending my pocket money on buying packs of fireworks. Then on the night itself we'd have a big bonfire in the garden, as would our neighbours. I seem to remember we'd cook jacket potatoes around the fire and have hotdogs. Then we'd set off (most of) our collection of fireworks (usually saving a few for the next evening). The air would be thick with smoke from all the bonfires and fireworks. As children we knew of the story behind bonfire night, but that really wasn't in our minds as we enjoyed the evening.
Yes that's pretty much the way it was for me, and it was more or less kept to Nov 5th unless it fell on a Sunday. Now Bonfire night seems to last all week
I share those memories. Spending days beforehand building our 'guy', then loading him onto a cart (old pram wheels usually) and sitting around the local shopping area chanting "penny for the guy"! Afterwards taking our loot ( often several shillings) and getting some bangers/sparklers/roman candles...whatever we could afford and setting them off away from adult supervision😁 Come bonfire night Guy would be proudly loaded atop a household bonfire.(often would involve a scrap to determine which house Guy would be sacrificed at!) As you say, jacket potatoes roasted in the fire, Dad setting off the fireworks, Mum making sure we didn't die from burns etc. Golden memories!
Aye, same. Big family event. All our aunties and uncles, cousins. We'd host the bonfire party at different relatives house and alternate every year. All the kids would bring their guys, boxes of fires works to pool together for the display. Sometimes go to our grandparents house. Because we grew up on a council estate there was a local park with field. All the locals used to dump their rubbish, old furniture, things they wanted rid of that would burn etc into a big pile in the field leading up to bonfire night. All the locals would have a big party on the field and torch the massive bonfire. so sometimes we'd go there instead or go there after our house party.
They did, in fact, use to be quite common. The one in my home town was called Cooper's Magic Shop, and it was owned by David Cooper, Tommy Cooper's brother. When he died, his widow moved the business to Eastbourne where she and her daughter Sabrina ran it until 2017 when it was killed by Internet competition. Costumes were one of their big lines.
The Sussex bonfire scene is pretty wild. Bonfire societies from across the county visit different towns on a weekly basis for a couple of months during the autumn leading up to to Guy Fawkes night. In Sussex, the bonfires commemorate Guy Fawkes but more specifically the burning of the protestant martyrs in Lewes by Mary Tudor who wanted to restore Catholicism. Sussex has a long history of protest, rebellion dating from the Barons War, the Reformation, the Commonwealth right through to Thomas Paine and the Rights of Man. The county motto is "We wunt be druv".
BTW, Bonfire Night is NOT a holiday, and neither is Halloween. Guy Fawkes or Bonfire Night used to be something we as kids really got excited about. Then, in the early 80s, those Halloween films came out, and for reasons I will never fathom, we managed to import the ridiculous American Trick or Treating thing. Anyway, I'm loving your content.
I agree. Hunting for wood in the bombed out houses in Liverpool. Storing and guarding the wood from the other streets for weeks before. Halloween. Or bob apple night. Was far down the excitement list.
@@hardywatkins7737 Yes, not an import... "The history of trick-or-treating traces back to Scotland and Ireland, where the tradition of guising, going house to house at Halloween and putting on a small performance to be rewarded with food or treats, goes back at least as far as the 16th century, as does the tradition of people wearing costumes at Halloween."
The video you watched seems very keen on framing the protestants as villains and the plotters as brave freedom fighters. The more common idea is that they simply wanted power in catholic hands (theirs specifically). They tried to raise a rebellion but nobody came except the king's soldiers. The famous rhyme "Remember, remember..." does celebrate the plot being foiled.
I mean most people i know see guy as the good guy, yeah he was a bit of a rotter but he tried to blow up parliament which i think almost every brit has wanted at some point.
@@seldom_bucket People say that but it's just a joke, if someone actually carried out a terrorist attack on parliament I doubt it would be celebrated...
@@user-zp4ge3yp2o He's not lying though ... that was true for many of us, that Guy Fawkes was the hero because he nearly blew up the government. - We were kids for goodness sake!
anyone remember 'penny for the guy'? not seen that for years, maybe a victorian tradition when poor kids got the opportunity to make a few pence by installing an effigy of guy fawkes on a street corner somewhere. Also one of the videos refers to guy fawkes day, nobody in the uk would know that. Its guy fawkes night! Also now known as fireworks night (clue's in the title)
im over 60 now, but in my childhood we used to make a guy, they actually sold guy masks back then. we made limbs out of (panty hose ) tights stuffed with news paper and put on it some old clothes and stood at the local train station with the poor fella sat in a pushchair or something asking for Penny for the Guy. This was just to get money to buy fireworks lol
I am Lewes born and bred. Personally I never really got involved but my mother's family had been. Many families have members who have trained in pyrotechnics and the 7 societies make many of the fireworks are locally made. At 06.00 bonfire morning the whole town is awoken by a huge explosion, the Lewes rouser. It repeats at the close of the day. Thousands flock to the town and the shops are boarded up. The railway station closes and all the roads into the town are closed. The running of the burning tar barrels before throwing them into the river is done quite early but is worth seeing. It is a spectacular evening and night. You're right it is the biggest B/F celebration. Cliffe bonfire society is the most traditional. The processions march around the town for hours. Each society hold their own bonfire and each of the bonfires is about the height of a two story house and each society keeps its main tableau secret until the night. You need to be aware it's not very PC at times.
I live in sussex and went to Lewes bonfire a few times about 25-30 years ago. With roads and rails shut I have not been back since. How do people actually get in nowdays?
@@bobnevermindYou have to try and get a hotel room or airb&b, public transport usually runs up to midday, but is then shut down until the next morning. Same with the roads.
The story really begins with Henry VIII's schism with the Roman Catholic church which began the whole enmity with devoutly Catholic Spain. Guy Fawkes, a Yorkshireman, enlisted with the Spanish army (becoming Guido Fawkes) to fight Dutch protestants in the Eighty Years War.
The Dutch protestants would have been doing their thing with or without Henry VIII. The Protestant Catholic schism started in continental Europe, not in England. Indeed Henry VIII always saw himself as Catholic, just not one controlled by Rome, and the church of England he founded was Catholic in nature. There are members of the CoE to this day who maintain that the CoE is still Catholic and the Oxford movement in the 19th century built a number of churches, notably in Oxford and Brighton which many call "high church". They have the gilding, statues and incense burning more typical of Catholicism. Meanwhile, even before Henry VIII split with Rome, there has been growing Protestant movements in England, Wales and Scotland. William Tyndale had, illegally, translated the Bible into English against Catholic doctrine and ended up paying for it with his life with the full approval of Henry VIII. That was in 1536, long after Henry had split from the Roman church. The Scots went their own particular way with the rather austere Calvanism, rather than the other main continental European Protestant model of Lutherianism. Many in England had adopted the latter during Henry VIII's reign, and they kind of high-jacked Henry VIII's process with his one surviving son, Edward, educated, or maybe indoctrinated, as a hyper-Protestant king. He was to die young, to be replaced by the equally religiously intolerant Mary I (bloody Mary) and then the rather more pragmatic Elizabeth, who gradually became more Catholic as Spain was perceived as a threat to her life and throne. The Stuarts were, equally, all over the place with James I/VI the being very Protestant and his grandson James II/VII being increasingly Catholic to be brought finally to the end with Mary II (co-regnant with William of Orange), another Stuart and the daughter of James III. So that schism with the Roman Catholics was already brewing in England and Scotland prior to Henry VIII splitting from Rome. James I was a Scot, not English, and thus his Protestantism was not due to Henry VIII alone. Very possibly not even mainly due to Henry.
@@TheEulerID I mentioned the Dutch Protestants as a sidenote why Guy Fawkes, an Englishman born in Yorkshire, became Guido Fawkes after enlisting in the Spanish Army; they had little relevance to the Gunpowder Plot otherwise. I never said Henry VIII or the CoE were Protestant in the modern sense - it was seen as heretical for rejecting the authority of the Pope in Rome, and we all know how fond Spain was of heretics, whether they were Catholic or not; no-one expects the Spanish Inquisition! 😄 Although there were Protestent movements in Europe, the issue was Henry (and all subsequent monarchs) being the head of the 'heretical' non-orthodox CoE. As an Englishman, Guido Fawkes (and the other conspirators) would have a particular axe to grind with the English monarch, hence the Gunpowder Plot and why I said it all began with Henry VIII as the pivotal instigator. Silly me for trying to keep what I had to say relevant and to the point instead of witing an essay though.
@@TheEulerID I went to a junior school that was aligned with the local Church of St. Mary Magdalene we as a school walked to the Church on a Wednesday and had a mass. I was an altar boy and on a Sunday I was the Thurifer one who carries the Thurible that contained the burning incense. This was Church of England and a high church.
Catesby and Percy are probably the only conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot who are widely known among British schoolchildren, other than Guido Fawkes. At junior school I do remember drawing the big hats, beards, and seemingly long noses of a bunch of guys, as part of history projects in Michaelmas Term. However, only three names were regularly mentioned, and only Fawkes got the distinction of having a competition between each house as to the best effigy.
Robert Catesby is an ancestor of Kit Harington (John Snow from Game of Thrones) on his mother's side, although confusingly Harington is also related to James I as well on his father's side, so he's got ancestry on both sides of the story, that's why Harington was involved in the production of Gunpowder, the TV drama in 2017 about the Plot. Thomas Percy is one of the Percy family from Northumberland who have known to be involved in arguments with and links to the royal family going back to Henry IV's time (Harry Hotspur), Richard III (Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland), Anne Boleyn (6th Earl of Northumberland), Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots (8th Earl of Northumberland) and Charles I in the English Civil War (Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland). The other conspirators apart from Guy Fawkes all died in a shootout with the Royal Guard, reminiscent of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid versus the Bolivian Army.
Hey Alanna. I think your summary is fair. It's a celebration now. As a kid my dad would have a bonfire and fireworks in our garden and lots of friends and family were invited. I remember eating jacket potatoes, roasted corn on the cob and toffee apples. All rather fun as a young kid. Now I tend to meet up at a fireworks display with my brother and family.
It used to be fun as a kid, putting your parka on backwards and sitting outside the pub, 'penny for the guy'. Last time in the UK 2019 was spoilt not by trick or treaters, but by people setting off fireworks a month early.
I grew up in a small village and rather than individual bonfires we had a village one in a large field. Majority of the kids would collect fire wood from the woods attached to the village and build a huge bonfire for everyone to enjoy. It normally took about 3 days for it to burn out. This was at a time when regardless of your age you could into shops which stocked fireworks and buy them.
I knew the names of the other guys! In fact, if I remember my history lessons, Robert Catesby was more important in the Gunpowder Plot (as one of its architects) than Guy Fawkes (as a mere functionary) - it just so happens that Fawkes is remembered as having been the weak link that caused the plot to be foiled. It's likely that he's also remembered for having been tortured - unlike the video implies, he was racked to the extent that he could barely even hold the pen to sign the confession that sealed his fate and that of his co-conspirators. Bonfire Night has morphed largely into Fireworks Night since I was a boy, and it rather annoys me that nowadays it spills out over at least two weeks on either side of 5th November. When I was little, the fireworks took place only on that date and that made it all the more exciting. I looked forward to it every year, especially to being in the frosty night air of late autumn in the North West of England waving sparklers, admiring the fire and the explosions, eating chestnuts and drinking hot chocolate. You'd have loved it, Alanna, I suspect!
I'm American-born but my mother and family are British (Leicester in the midlands). I learn so much about my ancestral history and modern England from you it makes me feel out of touch. Time to take a long holiday to the motherland! Thanks Alanna!!
Leicester born and bred here🙋♂️ Nice to meet another person with connections to Leicester. Always welcome to visit. For me, I think most English people learn about the gunpowder plot and the history of bonfire night as kids. To be honest, as it's a true British historical event, it's an exclusive British tradition that was also celebrated in some countries under the rule of the British empire. The symbol that the king (the most powerful ruler in the world at that time) was saved. And whether people see it that way or not, I think everyone knows why we have bonfire night
As a member of a Bonfire society, I can safely say that in Sussex its the best time of the year. The season starts mid September on Saturday nights and continues until mid November across various villages and towns. Lewes is by far the biggest and the highlight of the season- very crazy. There's a good couple of thousand people taking part in the multiple processions and many tens of thousands of people coming to watch. If you are planning to come down for next year i suggest you sort out where you are staying and how you are getting to/from the town as they usually close the roads and trains. Hope you can make it!
Lewes has six bonfire societies, and many of the surrounding villages and towns in Sussex have one of their own too. These latter tend to celebrate Bonfire in their own localities on days preceding the 5th November, but they join with the Lewes ones on that night for gigantic revelries. Though the majority of bonfire societies are in your neighbouring county East Sussex, your own town in Kent, Alanna, has a very distinguished one, Edenbridge BS (founded in 1928). Who knows, perhaps you will seek to join it yourself (details on their website)!
As a fellow Canadian, from Chatham-Kent. I can say it is still known and may be celebrated or remembered by some, more common in loyalist areas. I am involved with historical groups that mainly portray the War of 1812. Black Powder would have been readily available in that era as others have posted. 1 pound of powder is enough to send a 3lb cannonball almost 1km. So over 2000 lbs would have been shocking. The documentary, The Gunpowder plot: Exploding the legend. Recreated the event and building to show what the effect would have been
Lewes is EASILY the BEST place to celebrate Bonfire Night (and it ain't THAT far from Kent, Honey!). Fantastic fun - and the Police maintain only a discreet and respectful presence. Combine with a pint or two of real ale or cider🙂, walk/stagger down to your chosen (very big) bonfire site (of which there are at least five) after the street processions, and your have the PERFECT recipe for an evening you'll remember forever. Trust me on this! BTW - the Lewes festivities are in fact a TWO-in-one event: the 'traditional' Guy Fawkes Night, but also the COMMEMORATION of the 17 Protestant martyrs who were burnt at the stake there, during the reign of Bloody Mary (a fanatical Catholic - like Guy Fawkes!).
Yes, Lewes has the history and the tradition: it's personal, so it carries on. It's just huge. There are six bonfire societies, each parading to their own bonfires, so it takes all evening. Not only does the town shut down, but the St John Ambulance brigade takes over the ambulance service, too, with enough members from Sussex, etc., in attendance.
halloween used to be a really big thing in scotland at least . somewhere around the early 90s it started morphing into trick or treating like the american version .now it seems to be dieing out slowly
Bonfire night is still celebrated in Canada, but only in Newfoundland and Labrador. It used to be moderately celebrated throughout many parts of Canada, but apart from in Newfoundland and Labrador, celebrating it had died out by the beginning of the 20th century. It's still moderately celebrated in parts of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the former British Caribbean.
As a kid growing up in Scotland I remember 'Guising' whiich involved as making our effigy of Guy Fawkes then taking it around asking people for 'A penny for the guy' which we then spent on fireworks. We would also scour the area collecting any wood to make a bonfire from. This was back in the late '60s/early '70s. We didn't know anything about the history of it, just loved the idea of a big fire and of course the fireworks.
guising was on halloween you went round the doors of your local area and told a joke or a story at each door for a sweet or some form of treat. penny for the guy was making a guy and taking it round or sitting on a corner or outside the local pub or shop asking for money supposedly for materials for the bonfire or the fireworks for the celebration on the 5th of nov.
I think you will find halloween has been very Americanised hence why it has dropped massively in popularity in the UK. In the 90s and before at least in Scotland halloween was a lot more popular than now but kept a lot more traditional than the commercialised version that they do today
I remember Catherine wheels not spinning on the washing line post. rockets clattering on neighbour's sheds. bonfires in everyone's gardens .drawing shapes with sparklers. baked potatoes in the fire and mulled elderberry wine with bits of orange and cloves floating in it.
Every british child learns the story of Guy Fawkes, through the classic rhyme: "Remember remember the 5th of November, the gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot." But it's mostly a fun exciting night in the dark of winter, bonfires, fireworks and 'penny for the guy'. Two suggestions for you: 1) There was a documentary in the early 2000s, presented by Richard Hammond, where they built a mockup of the period house of parliament, stacked 36 barrels of real gunpowder in the undercroft, then retreated to a safe distance and lit the fuse. The explosion has to be been to be believed. 2) The movie V for Vendetta, that draws heavy inspiration from the Guy Fawkes story in places.
To my mind the most amazing Bonfire Night traditions are Lewes (which you saw) for the scale and commitment, and also Ottery St Mary in Devon where they run flaming barrels of tar down the street - the barrels range from little ones for children to carry on their backs(!) up to a giant one which requires four large men to carry on their backs together. Don’t worry though - they’re protected from the flames by rugby shirts and oven gloves.
I too am from Kent but I happened to be in Lewes for work one year on November 5th. I can confirm that the celebrations are actually mad, with all those flaming items being dragged through the High Street. Really glad I was able to experience it.
Allannah the nursery Rhyme that we learned in school is as follows" Remember Remember the 5th of November!! GUNPOWDER, TREASON & PLOT!! For I see no reason for the Gunpowder Treason to Ever be Forgot ?? This was not the modern Houses of Parliament but the old Westminster Palace that later burned down all that is left today is Westminster Hall & the Jewel Tower!!
In 1605 the slouch hat gained a raised crown, but the brim was wide, because its purpose was to shield from rain and, in war, to keep the rain from extinguishing a musketeer's match. By the 1630s the crown was much lower and the hat more floppy, but always with a wide brim. (I was in the English Civil War Society and had a slouch hat). You can buy one at the stalls if you go to watch an ECWS major event. (Or a Sealed Knot event).
It brings memories of going out with our 'Guy' on our 4 wheel cart and asking for 'penny for the guy' . The guy was old clothes stuffed with newspaper and a masked head. Any money taken was used to buy fireworks. I always remember a man said we were beggars once and that put us off a bit. I can't see that happening any more. The stuffed guy was thrown on the bonfire. It used to be a popular event.
Hi Alana, my bonfire nights was in the late 50s and 60s in the Black Country on the edge of the countryside. The rime we all learned at school Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, gunpowder treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot. Bonfire night actually started for us kids about a month before because we used to have the bonfire at home in the garden out the back. At that time there was two priorities 1. Getting the firewood and any wood would do, from the hedge rows last years old bed frames etc. 2. Building “a Guy” this was made from old clothes and any materials we (as kids ) could find and scrounge! 3. Getting money for fireworks. The fire wood was got, as said, from the local area hedge rows, near the brooks and streams where trees were abundant dragging it home between us. We even used small choppers if there was no wind broken branches. The old bed carcasses from any old dumps that might be local. It took us weeks to get much you know us 10 to 14 year olds couldn’t carry much. The Guy was a bit of a team effort with the mums and us kids. Mums sowing the old cloths together in what we now know as a mannequin from old trousers and jumpers and tee shirts, you know the throw away’s, and shoes. They also made the head probably with an old cap or Woolley hat. Us kids would find loads of old newspapers and material to stuff the Guy with. To get the fireworks or rather the money for fireworks, we’ll that needed the Guy. We would go round the streets knocking doors for the traditional “Penny for the Guy” scrounging demand from the neighbours, this was together with down the village shops for the same reason getting all the pennies we could for buying fire works. This would be more successful with a good looking Guy of course. The week before the night would be when we’d build the bonfire. These weren’t that big of course back garden size not big enough for anything much over 4ft tall. Of course we’d give the Dads the money to buy the fireworks of course you couldn’t get many with the the pennies we got for the Guy. Bonfire night was brilliant. Setting light to the fire, putting potatoes around the base for roasting and the mums making the peas pudding etc. Dads lit the fireworks as long as they lasted. It was exciting and marvellous but it was all about families joining together to make a night of it. There was no Halloween though that’s a Scottish tradition nothing to do with us. That was our traditional bonfire night families and kids coming together because it was traditional. Strangely enough It was at Holbeche (we pronounce it Holbeach) House in Wall Heath, near Dudley, where many of the plotters made their last stand - just down the road from Himley Hall. The strange bit was that was my village growing up never really heard any of that while at school. Just a 1/2 mile from our house, only found this out in later years. You will have to go to your local Fireworks display I’m afraid!! No penny for the Guy for you my girl your too old!! Ha!
In the West Country the celebrations are called Carnival and there are a series of them in various towns with competitive clubs building decorative floats. The Largest of these is probably Bridgwater which dates from 1605. The towns were strongly Protestant back then and one of the plot instigators was from the area. Carnival nowadays is less Guy Fawkes/Gunpowder Plot themed, the fireworks are called "Squibs". It is not a coincidence that it's also the new seasons Cider production. The same clubs turn out for "Wassailing" in New Year to encourage the Apple Trees, a more Pagan Celebration. It involves cider soaked toast and firearms.
New mic makes you sound like you are on local radio. Lewes (said the same way as Lewis) is unusual in that it takes the religious war to a new level by burning an effigy of the pope every year (!!!) Some of the models have been quite impressive to look at.
I agree it's more "tradition" than a holiday. It's more common to be known as "fireworks night", well in Scotland anyway. Talking of Scotland and Halloween, did you know a lot of the "American" traditions are actually from old Scottish traditions to celebrate All Hallow's Eve?
Excuse me…??? How do you work that out..? All hallows eve is not just Scottish , it’s Celtic and despite what you Scots Irish and Welsh like to believe there were Celts ALL OVER Britain ..quite a lot in the North… the difference is we don’t witter on about it all the time and it’s name was Samhain 🙄🇬🇧
I am almost 70 years old and I can tell you that we all learned about Guy Fawkes in Primary School. In secondary school I studied the Stuarts and the 18th Century in British History as part of my History A Levels, so we went through the Gunpowder/Catesby/Popish Plot in more detail. So obviously nothing in those videos was a surprise. What they might have told you is that King James I had already been King James VI of Scotland so when Queen Elizabeth I died without a nearer heir, he succeeded her and there was a Union of the Crowns (so he is known as James I + VIth). So that's what Guy Fawkes meant when he said he'd been intending to blow the King back to his Scottish mountains. It was a plot that, had it succeeded, would have blown up a LARGE chunk of London and particularly the King and Parliament. I can't imagine people celebrating Guy Fawkes as a "valiant but failed attempt against the authorities" but it is true that occasionally, when Parliament suggests something off-the-wall, people may say "Where is Guy Fawkes when you need him..". When (tomorrow??) The King's Speech is read to Parliament and at the Opening of Parliament, there is a ritual search of the cellars beforehand "just in case". All good stuff but I agree that for most, especially children, Bonfire Night is an excuse to have fun around a bonfire, watch some fireworks set off and have some sweets etc.
The hats are a fashion from roughly the same time as the Mayflower pilgrims. I've read the buckles are a bit of ridiculing from outsiders but the basic hat is quite similar.
Yes, you are right that it is (or was in my day) more of a tradition than anything else. It was about the event not the message but the message was still there in the background with the effigies and the message was definitely there at school. As kids we also celebrated him as an anti-government rebel (which wasn't approved of) and IMO, we could do with him again. At least figuratively, if not literally.
Brit here , I am 66 and when I was 9 years old my sister and brother who were older than me dressed me up as Guy Fawkes and push me round in a pram in our town to ask for penny for the guy we had a good bonfire night .😁
The adoption of Fawkes as a folk hero is relatively new, and is largely a result of the 'graphic novel' and subsequent movie 'V'. For a while the mask used in 'V' representing Fawkes was a very common thing seen at protests - I have even seen it worn at protests in Canada. Despite not being 'my sort of thing' I'd recommend watching the movie, it’s quite good.
Depending on what you feel about the Government there's some debate as to whether Bonfire night is celebrating Guy Fawkes FAILING to blow up Parliament, or for giving it a jolly good go!😁 As you may have heard before Guy fawkes is often called the only man to enter Parliament with honest intentions!🤔 When I was a kid Bonfire night was much bigger than Halloween, which was largely ignored. These days Halloween has become increasingly popular for several reasons: 1) American media and culture influencing kids. 2) Parents view it as safer, with less chance of their children ending up in casualty. 3) Halloween has greater commercial opportunities and appeal. 4) Fancy-dress parties, especially with students. As a child my family would celebrate Bonfire night with the people next door on Nov 5th itself. During the day we'd all go to the local woods to get stuff for the bonfire and make a guy (like a scarecrow) out of old clothes stuffed with newspaper, etc. We's also help(?) our mums make lots of goodies like fudge, flapjacks,toffee apples, rice-crispie & chocolate cakes, etc. Then in the evening we'd light the bonfire, let off some cheap fireworks, write your name with sparklers and bake potatoes wrapped in tin-foil in the fire to eat with the other munchies. Then at the weekend we'd go to a big public firework display. N.B. 20 shillings = one pound, so 2 shillings = 10p. Obviously back in the day you could get a lot more for 2 shillings than 10 pence today.
Lewes is bonkers and a tad wild. Sussex is the best place for bonfire parades and Lewes is the best. Been a few times and can be scary. The town shuts and you need to plan the visit as roads in are closed, buses don’t run and the rail station closed. Cliffe bonfire after the parade is huge and probably the best of the Lewes bonfire societies.
@@toni-kaku I believe it is an effigy of the Pope at the time of the plot, rather than current Pope. He was burned as it was believed that he was part of the plot. Other people are also burned (in effigy), often the current Prime Minister.
Trains no longer stop there on bonfire day, at least they didn’t last year. It’s to keep the crowds down as it was getting dangerous. The Pope effigy is still burned but not because of the bonfire plot. The Catholic Queen Mary had 17 Protestants burned and they are known as the Lewes martyrs. The Pope is burned because of that even though he didn’t have anything to do with it. 17 burning crosses are carried in the parade in memory of their sacrifice.
We had no need for Halloween while growing up, First we would make our Guy, then we would go out asking, Penny for the Guy, to get money to buy Fireworks, plus we would be trying to make sure our bonfire was bigger than the neighbours, we were also allowed to light most of the fireworks, plus more fireworks could be held in a gloved hand then. Our parents would make toffee Apples, treacle toffee and other treats. Halloween to us seemed a poor substitute, compared to the Guy Fawkes night of my youth it is.
I've never been in Britain for Bonfire Night. On my "bucket list" is going to Otter St Mary in Devon for Bonfire Night so I can see the villagers run through the street with flaming tar barrels on their backs!
I was with a friend once and he asked this British guy if the had the 4th of July in England. He said, "Of course. But our 4th of July is like your 5th of November?" "But what's special about the 5th of November?" "Exactly." This confused my friend and I felt a powerful need to redeem my own country, so I said, "Dude, Remember Remember the 5th of November." The English guy looked at me, clearly impressed. This confused my friend even more, which made the English guy and me start to laugh. I finally told him about the gunpowder plot and how it's celebrated on the 5th of November. Do you think Bonfire night was ever celebrated in the Colonies?
Most European and Indo-European and northern hemisphere based cultures have an autumn post-harvest 'festival of lights' celebration as the autumn equinox comes around. Its linked to pre-Christian traditions that sneaked past the introduction of Christainity. It usually involves bonfires and torches etc. Every few centuries a new reason to have it is introduced to ignore the pagan roots. In north america they adopted Halloween as the excuse to continue the celebration Until the 1980's we did not really celebrate Halloween and so Guy Fawkes night or 'bonfire night' was our big autumn festival of lights. I think the Discovery program is wrong. I don't think any British person celebrates Guy Fawkes as 'rebel'. I don't think it even occurs to them. Its just an old tradition with a new face. The same celebration was happening before the Roman's turned up. It was celebrated by them and was continued by the Anglo-Saxons as a Germanic autumn celebration. Plenty of pagan beliefs managed to survive Christainity like Beltain/Walpurgis'(May day), Eostre (Easter), Samhain (Halloween) Yule (Christmas). You could probably include 'Well dressing' and morris dancing' too, because I think its safe to assume they have pagan origins. Oh and don't forget 'wassailing'.
Not really correct. There was no English tradition of bonfires in the Autumn months before 1605 and the Gunpowder Plot - the seasons for fires in England was Midsummer and New Year. Beltain was an Irish festivity (and in those areas of Irish influence) and didn't occur in England. Easter isn't pagan - there is only one reference to the supposed spring goddess 'Eostre' with no corroborative evidence. Halloween is a mixture of the Irish Samhain, the Christian feasts of All Saints & All Souls and Hollywood. That there was a festival of Yule is debatable as there is little evidence - the Danes in England called the festival of the Nativity 'Yule'. Well Dressing, Morris Dancing and Wassailing are not pagan in origin - medieval or later.
@@Wotsitorlabart "Well Dressing, Morris Dancing and Wassailing are not pagan in origin - medieval or later." - I'd add maypole dancing to that list, but i suspected those are all much later traditions.
@@hardywatkins7737 Yes, earliest references to maypoles in England (although actually in a Welsh poem) are mid 14th century. Well Dressing 18th/19th century. Morris Dancing - mid 15th century. Wassailing the trees - earliest reference Kent 1585.
yes we did that wrap up potatoes tin tin foil let them cook the skin was burnt but the potatoe i remember as being better than a jacket potatoe standing round a bonfire and watching fireworks going off sometimes i would throw throw in fireworks in the bonfire it looked nice (i was having a arty faze in my life) oh yes eating parking (its a short of cake) drinking mugs of tea coffee hot chocolate also eating sandwitches though maybe not in that order then we all take it in turns to say what we are looking forward to for the rest of the year
I highly recommend a documentary called "The Gunpowder plot: Exploding the Legend". It's hosted by Richard Hammond, and it goes through the history of the plot while setting up a Mythbusters style "test" of the possible result - they built a representative "replica" of the Parliament building at the time, put 36 barrels of gunpowder under it and set them off!
The English Parliament were cowardly & clueless after Oliver Cromwell died. They invited back a monarch & the House of Lords in a counter-revolution that re-installed remnants of feudalism that has held Britain's development back that remains here still. They partially reversed the counter-revolution in 1688-89 but the remnants of feudalism remain to this day. Digging up a corpse and hanging it is the spite of defeated forces who always lost when Oliver Cromwell was alive. The corpse was used as a terrorist device against the population and rotting bodies were often used like this.
Lewes doesn't have one of the largest bonfire celebrations in the country, it has seven of the largest bonfire celebrations in the country with rival societies competing with each other.
New year's eve: excuse to get drunk while watching 5 minutes of fireworks. Easter: excuse to eat chocolate. Halloween: (trick or treat etc.apparently started in Scotland) time for the shops to put out Christmas stuff. Bonfire night:5 minutes of fireworks. Christmas: excuse to eat and drink too much. True meanings of all are optional.
Decimalisation, (when the UK got rid of Pounds Shillings and Pence) was on the 15th of February 1971. At that time, a 2 shillings silver coin was worth 10p. Decimalisation at that time came to be called 'new money' as all the coins and bank notes changed overnight. 'Old money' was pre-decimal. In old money there were 240 pence in a pound. There were 10 shilling notes, pound notes, half-crowns, 2 shilling pieces, thrupenny bits, sixpence pieces, pennies and half-pennies. Some of these old coins and bank notes are now worth quite a bit to collectors. I have just seen a thrupenny bit on ebay, (originally worth 3 old pennies), now going for £995, so have a feel down the back of the settee, as you never know!
Bonfire night descends from traditional pagan autumn fire festivals. A big part of the reason it became Guy Fawkes night was because the Anglican church was desperate to stamp out these last vestiges of heathenry, and so they (like many of the sites of their oldest churches) co-opted things, and slapped it onto a contemporary issue of the day with plenty of religious overtones. The common folk, just wanting to enjoy their autumn fire festivities went with it. Halloween is also descended from ancient Celtic pagan harvest festivals. We DO have costumes shops but they're usually privately owned (not chain brands) and they're shared costume/joke accessory shops, magic tricks, all that sort of thing. You'll most likely find the town/city;s one costume shop near to a university halls of residence or other student area, because British students love to dress up for Halloween and get drunk. British Halloween seems to ebb and flow. Some years it's more popular, plenty of trick or treaters, and in other years there's almost nothing (aside from student parties and nightclub events). Bonfire night seems far more muted than it used to be because fireworks are expensive, so is wood, and health & safety regulations getting tighter.
Bonfire Night - Fantastic! Following hot on the heels of all those Samhain Parties, it's Bonfires! Kids making their Guy, (Usually a facsimile of an unpopular politician or celebrity). Chumping for wood. Building the Pile. The excitement of seeing the pile grow. Setting up Guard Duty. And then: the Night itself. Bonfire Toffee, Beer, Jacket Potatoes wrapped in Tin Foil, rescued from the ashes. Later still, Hip Flasks. All the while waiting for the Guy to go up in flames atop the fire. It brings communities together. It accustoms us to the freezing cold, eating and drinking with friends and neighbours, come rain, sleet and ice. I love it.
Those of us who are of our four nations understand the significance of this event as it is a major part of our history, not so much those who identify as British
four nations folk identify as English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh & have a long bloodline on these isles, British has in recent decades become a generic term for those who have come from outside the UK and then had children here, before the industrial revolution movement of people was very limited
I think as time has gone on people are more sympathetic to Guido Fawkes, but fundamentally it has just been about celebration and tradition for the UK. As funny as it is to imagine the country collectively holding a grudge to the point of burning a man's effigy every year, it is true that most people don't even think about it like that. I also note that another bonfire night tradition that seems to be dying out is 'penny for the Guy'. In the 90's me and my friends would make an effigy of Guy Fawkes and then sit outside a shop with it and a bucket and ask passers by "Penny for a Guy?" To which they would either shake their heads or pop some change into the bucket. I think it was a way of 'rating' the quality of your effigy. Later on, we would burn the Guy on the bonfire if we had one. I don't see that so much now, but it was a fun tradition for kids.
Fun fact, kit Harington Aka John snow from GOT, his ancestor was the mastermind behind the plan Robert catesby, he actually played his ancestor in a show called gunpowder. Imagine that.
About twenty years ago there was a theory going round that the barrels of gunpowder would be insufficient to blow up the Houses of Parliament as they were at that time, so one of the tv stations, Channel 4 I think, held a kind of reconstruction of the Gunpowder Plot using the same amount of gunpowder mixed to the same formula that was used at the time. A building was constructed with a heavy floor and then the powder was set off. The building was blown to smithereens......
when i was a kid i always thought bonfire night was a celebration that someone nearly blew parliament up rather than a celebration because they were caught. also those hats and clothing are typical for the 1600s.
When I was a child Halloween was just some American thing to do with witches, that was sometimes mentioned in books or on TV. It was only about 30 years ago that people started copying the American traditions. I do know of a costume shop in the market in my home town. It has been there a long time, but is small. I have never bought anything from it. On Bonfire night we would have a bonfire in my parents garden, burn a guy (my Mum's way of getting rid of the old clothes my Dad wouldn't throw out), and set off fireworks. Then we would have black pea soup (a local tradition), parkin and treacle toffee..
Second best to bonfire night itself when I was a kid was the walk to school the next morning. It would inevitably be foggy due to almost everyone having had a fire in their back garden and we would collect fallen rockets from the road as we went. Kept them for a while then our mothers disappeared them.
I live in Otley where Sir Guy de Faulkes lived. I look out of my living room window and I can just see the house in the forest we call the chevin. His family still live here.
I live close by, not in Lewes (Loo-issssss) and have been a few times - its an experience that the videos don't quite convey - such as narrow the streets really are, how noisy the fireworks are and how intense the light from the fireworks. There is an air of over protectiveness now which is typified by the closure of roads and the railway station to stop outsiders attending. Despite the rain, the estimate for 2023 was 20,000 visitors but I have attended in torrential rain when the crowds were almost twice that number. Outsiders now park along way outside Lewes and walk in - not easy on unlit country roads, such as the road to Ringmer village. I strongly suggest you attend in the next few years - it really is worth the effort. Not shown in the videos is that there are five bonfire societies in Lewes and each has a large bonfire and firework display which can be viewed from miles away but is better experienced close to. ... and finally, the parade walkers are not dressed as pirates in stripy jumpers - they denote the Sussex bonfires societies who raise large sums of charity money each year. Each society has it own local event which starts mid September and ends mid November.
Im from very near Lewes in East Sussex. They take it very seriously here in East Sussex. It a tradition steeped in history and its a fantastic evening and a must for any tourist visiting around Bonfire night. Years ago we made a "GUY" and asked people Penny for the Guy and bought fireworks with the money. Not sure you can do that these days. We still burn a guy on the bonfire and eat Jacket potatoes and hold sparklers.
i went to the Grammar School in Lewes. the school is over 500 years old and like the town its steeped in history. bonfire night was the highlight if our year. it was pure carnage, exciting and dangerous. With the Castle and the tight streets totally full of people the atmosphere was incredible. Lewes also had the most pubs per capita in the country so lots of booze (starting at 14 lol, everyone used to get served). its a bit more tame these days but still worth a visit for sure.
@@mystified1429 yeh it was the old grammar school, i always thought the other grammar school was just a girls school? did it change to the priory school, what year was that?
@@anthonyjarvis9472 The Girls was near Southover Grange gardens and the boys was Mountfield rd. Next to the Sec. Mod. with a big fence round it ! Both changed in 1969 to Comp. and the fence was pulled down. Then called Priory school. Made me a Socialist because of it's elitism.There was a mix of good teachers and total eejits. LOL. Hope you did well @ yours, and it was worthwhile.😀
Back in the sixties when I was a child, a group of us would make up a Guy in old clothes stuffed with newspaper. Then we’d go out in the street and ask passers by for ‘a penny for the Guy’. On the 5th November we’d have fireworks and a bonfire in someone’s back garden and burn the Guy. I can remember my Dad setting off rockets that were propped up in a milk bottle! Bonfire night now is nothing like it used to be, it’s very diminished these days.
we do hallowe'en here, its an ancient druid festival (samhain[saa'wyn]) - but we celebrate it slightly differently. The 'trick or treat' part is quite american but it comes from 'guising', that Irish and Scottish like to claim is exclusively from them but was ubiquitous across the isles. For us it's like the darker myth side of something like Dia de los muertas, witchcraft etc, rather than costumes and sweets - on hallowe'en there are many haunted mansion tours(eg; Chillingham castle)
King James was king of Scotland and later became king of England too. He tried to unite the two countries but there was always mistrust from both sides of the border.
At school in the 60s we learnt about General James Wolfe (2 January 1727 - 13 September 1759) he was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec. James Wolfe was born at the local vicarage on 2 January 1727 (New Style or 22 December 1726 Old Style) at Westerham, Kent, the older of two sons of Colonel (later Lieutenant General) Edward Wolfe,[1] a veteran soldier whose family was of Anglo-Irish origin, and the former Henrietta Thompson. His uncle was Edward Thompson MP, a distinguished politician. Wolfe's childhood home in Westerham, known in his lifetime as Spiers, has been preserved in his memory by the National Trust under the name Quebec House.[2] Wolfe's family were long settled in Ireland and he regularly corresponded with his uncle Major Walter Wolfe in Dublin. Stephen Woulfe, the distinguished Irish politician and judge of the next century, was from the Limerick branch of the same family; his father was James Wolfe's third cousin. The Wolfes were close to the Warde family, who lived at Squerryes Court in Westerham. Wolfe's boyhood friend George Warde achieved fame as Commander-in-Chief in Ireland. Wikipedia.
Brits today don't care about the reason for bonfire night. To them is just an excuse to have a night of festivities on a cold winters night, with a few bevvies thrown in for the adults.
The guy (sorry) on the extreme right,Robert Catesby,was the real mastermind behind the plot. Guy Fawkes was nothing more than a mercenary foot soldier.
How do you celebrate Bonfire Night?? ALSO! I have a monthly newsletter, if you want to sign up 😊 adventuresandnaps.com/newsletter
Usually I celebrate quietly (trying to avoid the fact that I'm a year older on that day).
@@goingnowhere7845 To be fair, being a year older is better than the alternative.
Nowadays it's a small celebration with close friends and family in the back garden with some good food and drinks and a few fireworks and sparklers but still worth it every year to keep the tradition going.
Many people want to cancel bonfire night home celebrations and restrict them to organised events due to the affect the loud noises and fires have on the wildlife, I only hope that the tradition doesn't get lost when the event becomes more commercialised.
I'd really recommend you look at May day, it's a very old tradition in the UK (not actually a labour holiday) in Padstow specifically it's a surviving proto-indo european fertility festival and they go all out like Lewes do on Bonfire night.
@@stephenlee5929 Very good point.
I don't bother anymore with it
I think Bonfire Night has changed over the years. When I was a child it was second only to Christmas in terms of the excitement it would generate. In the weeks before bonfire night I'd be spending my pocket money on buying packs of fireworks. Then on the night itself we'd have a big bonfire in the garden, as would our neighbours. I seem to remember we'd cook jacket potatoes around the fire and have hotdogs. Then we'd set off (most of) our collection of fireworks (usually saving a few for the next evening). The air would be thick with smoke from all the bonfires and fireworks. As children we knew of the story behind bonfire night, but that really wasn't in our minds as we enjoyed the evening.
Yes that's pretty much the way it was for me, and it was more or less kept to Nov 5th unless it fell on a Sunday. Now Bonfire night seems to last all week
Collecting wood for the fire back in the day when you could light one anywhere. 😂
I share those memories. Spending days beforehand building our 'guy', then loading him onto a cart (old pram wheels usually) and sitting around the local shopping area chanting "penny for the guy"! Afterwards taking our loot ( often several shillings) and getting some bangers/sparklers/roman candles...whatever we could afford and setting them off away from adult supervision😁
Come bonfire night Guy would be proudly loaded atop a household bonfire.(often would involve a scrap to determine which house Guy would be sacrificed at!) As you say, jacket potatoes roasted in the fire, Dad setting off the fireworks, Mum making sure we didn't die from burns etc. Golden memories!
Aye, same. Big family event. All our aunties and uncles, cousins. We'd host the bonfire party at different relatives house and alternate every year. All the kids would bring their guys, boxes of fires works to pool together for the display. Sometimes go to our grandparents house.
Because we grew up on a council estate there was a local park with field. All the locals used to dump their rubbish, old furniture, things they wanted rid of that would burn etc into a big pile in the field leading up to bonfire night. All the locals would have a big party on the field and torch the massive bonfire. so sometimes we'd go there instead or go there after our house party.
Yep agreed now its big business.
We don't need costume shops in the UK because we all have capes, crowns and large hats at home.
They did, in fact, use to be quite common. The one in my home town was called Cooper's Magic Shop, and it was owned by David Cooper, Tommy Cooper's brother. When he died, his widow moved the business to Eastbourne where she and her daughter Sabrina ran it until 2017 when it was killed by Internet competition.
Costumes were one of their big lines.
I can't believe Alanna has been here for 8 years, but apparently doesn't own any of this totally normal English attire. What's she been doing?
I know - I was awarded my crown and robe when I became a local government highway engineer.
The shop that I knew in Southampton was called "Just for Fun" and was primarily a "Joke shop" itching powder, fart balloons and all.
@@10pmixupuk65 I believe that shop still exists with loads of costumes. Its in the Marland shopping centre off Above Bar Street
The Sussex bonfire scene is pretty wild. Bonfire societies from across the county visit different towns on a weekly basis for a couple of months during the autumn leading up to to Guy Fawkes night. In Sussex, the bonfires commemorate Guy Fawkes but more specifically the burning of the protestant martyrs in Lewes by Mary Tudor who wanted to restore Catholicism. Sussex has a long history of protest, rebellion dating from the Barons War, the Reformation, the Commonwealth right through to Thomas Paine and the Rights of Man. The county motto is "We wunt be druv".
BTW, Bonfire Night is NOT a holiday, and neither is Halloween. Guy Fawkes or Bonfire Night used to be something we as kids really got excited about. Then, in the early 80s, those Halloween films came out, and for reasons I will never fathom, we managed to import the ridiculous American Trick or Treating thing. Anyway, I'm loving your content.
I agree. Hunting for wood in the bombed out houses in Liverpool. Storing and guarding the wood from the other streets for weeks before.
Halloween. Or bob apple night. Was far down the excitement list.
We had trick or treat before then ( i was kid in the 70's), ... probably always had.
@@hardywatkins7737 Yes, not an import... "The history of trick-or-treating traces back to Scotland and Ireland, where the tradition of guising, going house to house at Halloween and putting on a small performance to be rewarded with food or treats, goes back at least as far as the 16th century, as does the tradition of people wearing costumes at Halloween."
@@lukesball1 Yeah i suspected as much. Thanks for saying ... i never really knew.
No one has mentioned ‘Penny for the Guy”
The video you watched seems very keen on framing the protestants as villains and the plotters as brave freedom fighters. The more common idea is that they simply wanted power in catholic hands (theirs specifically). They tried to raise a rebellion but nobody came except the king's soldiers. The famous rhyme "Remember, remember..." does celebrate the plot being foiled.
I mean most people i know see guy as the good guy, yeah he was a bit of a rotter but he tried to blow up parliament which i think almost every brit has wanted at some point.
@@seldom_bucket People say that but it's just a joke, if someone actually carried out a terrorist attack on parliament I doubt it would be celebrated...
It IS modern Discovery. Do your really expect accuracy and history from it.
@@user-zp4ge3yp2o depends how many tories they take out.
@@user-zp4ge3yp2o He's not lying though ... that was true for many of us, that Guy Fawkes was the hero because he nearly blew up the government. - We were kids for goodness sake!
anyone remember 'penny for the guy'? not seen that for years, maybe a victorian tradition when poor kids got the opportunity to make a few pence by installing an effigy of guy fawkes on a street corner somewhere. Also one of the videos refers to guy fawkes day, nobody in the uk would know that. Its guy fawkes night! Also now known as fireworks night (clue's in the title)
Or 'Bonfire night'.
im over 60 now, but in my childhood we used to make a guy, they actually sold guy masks back then. we made limbs out of (panty hose ) tights stuffed with news paper and put on it some old clothes and stood at the local train station with the poor fella sat in a pushchair or something asking for Penny for the Guy. This was just to get money to buy fireworks lol
aye, then we hoyed them on the bonfire :D
I am Lewes born and bred. Personally I never really got involved but my mother's family had been.
Many families have members who have trained in pyrotechnics and the 7 societies make many of the fireworks are locally made.
At 06.00 bonfire morning the whole town is awoken by a huge explosion, the Lewes rouser. It repeats at the close of the day. Thousands flock to the town and the shops are boarded up. The railway station closes and all the roads into the town are closed.
The running of the burning tar barrels before throwing them into the river is done quite early but is worth seeing.
It is a spectacular evening and night. You're right it is the biggest B/F celebration.
Cliffe bonfire society is the most traditional. The processions march around the town for hours. Each society hold their own bonfire and each of the bonfires is about the height of a two story house and each society keeps its main tableau secret until the night. You need to be aware it's not very PC at times.
One of the Kray brothers was in prison there, I remember being told that in around 93, when passed on the bus.
I live in sussex and went to Lewes bonfire a few times about 25-30 years ago. With roads and rails shut I have not been back since. How do people actually get in nowdays?
I like down the road but still mean to make the effort to walk around the blocks to see it one year.
@@bobnevermind it’s not open to anyone outside Lewes now as it has became very popular. I watched it on YT last year.
@@bobnevermindYou have to try and get a hotel room or airb&b, public transport usually runs up to midday, but is then shut down until the next morning. Same with the roads.
The story really begins with Henry VIII's schism with the Roman Catholic church which began the whole enmity with devoutly Catholic Spain. Guy Fawkes, a Yorkshireman, enlisted with the Spanish army (becoming Guido Fawkes) to fight Dutch protestants in the Eighty Years War.
so basically the same as ISIS terrorists.
The Dutch protestants would have been doing their thing with or without Henry VIII. The Protestant Catholic schism started in continental Europe, not in England. Indeed Henry VIII always saw himself as Catholic, just not one controlled by Rome, and the church of England he founded was Catholic in nature. There are members of the CoE to this day who maintain that the CoE is still Catholic and the Oxford movement in the 19th century built a number of churches, notably in Oxford and Brighton which many call "high church". They have the gilding, statues and incense burning more typical of Catholicism.
Meanwhile, even before Henry VIII split with Rome, there has been growing Protestant movements in England, Wales and Scotland. William Tyndale had, illegally, translated the Bible into English against Catholic doctrine and ended up paying for it with his life with the full approval of Henry VIII. That was in 1536, long after Henry had split from the Roman church.
The Scots went their own particular way with the rather austere Calvanism, rather than the other main continental European Protestant model of Lutherianism. Many in England had adopted the latter during Henry VIII's reign, and they kind of high-jacked Henry VIII's process with his one surviving son, Edward, educated, or maybe indoctrinated, as a hyper-Protestant king. He was to die young, to be replaced by the equally religiously intolerant Mary I (bloody Mary) and then the rather more pragmatic Elizabeth, who gradually became more Catholic as Spain was perceived as a threat to her life and throne.
The Stuarts were, equally, all over the place with James I/VI the being very Protestant and his grandson James II/VII being increasingly Catholic to be brought finally to the end with Mary II (co-regnant with William of Orange), another Stuart and the daughter of James III.
So that schism with the Roman Catholics was already brewing in England and Scotland prior to Henry VIII splitting from Rome. James I was a Scot, not English, and thus his Protestantism was not due to Henry VIII alone. Very possibly not even mainly due to Henry.
@@TheEulerID Interesting, thanks.
@@TheEulerID I mentioned the Dutch Protestants as a sidenote why Guy Fawkes, an Englishman born in Yorkshire, became Guido Fawkes after enlisting in the Spanish Army; they had little relevance to the Gunpowder Plot otherwise. I never said Henry VIII or the CoE were Protestant in the modern sense - it was seen as heretical for rejecting the authority of the Pope in Rome, and we all know how fond Spain was of heretics, whether they were Catholic or not; no-one expects the Spanish Inquisition! 😄 Although there were Protestent movements in Europe, the issue was Henry (and all subsequent monarchs) being the head of the 'heretical' non-orthodox CoE. As an Englishman, Guido Fawkes (and the other conspirators) would have a particular axe to grind with the English monarch, hence the Gunpowder Plot and why I said it all began with Henry VIII as the pivotal instigator.
Silly me for trying to keep what I had to say relevant and to the point instead of witing an essay though.
@@TheEulerID I went to a junior school that was aligned with the local Church of St. Mary Magdalene we as a school walked to the Church on a Wednesday and had a mass. I was an altar boy and on a Sunday I was the Thurifer one who carries the Thurible that contained the burning incense. This was Church of England and a high church.
Catesby and Percy are probably the only conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot who are widely known among British schoolchildren, other than Guido Fawkes. At junior school I do remember drawing the big hats, beards, and seemingly long noses of a bunch of guys, as part of history projects in Michaelmas Term. However, only three names were regularly mentioned, and only Fawkes got the distinction of having a competition between each house as to the best effigy.
Possibly Kit Wright? I remember being taught about Kit Wright at school, but I cannot remember in what context.
One of my home counties,Northamptonshire,is rep. by another Gunpowder plotter : local landed gentleman,Thomas Tresham. 👌👍
Robert Catesby is an ancestor of Kit Harington (John Snow from Game of Thrones) on his mother's side, although confusingly Harington is also related to James I as well on his father's side, so he's got ancestry on both sides of the story, that's why Harington was involved in the production of Gunpowder, the TV drama in 2017 about the Plot.
Thomas Percy is one of the Percy family from Northumberland who have known to be involved in arguments with and links to the royal family going back to Henry IV's time (Harry Hotspur), Richard III (Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland), Anne Boleyn (6th Earl of Northumberland), Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots (8th Earl of Northumberland) and Charles I in the English Civil War (Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland).
The other conspirators apart from Guy Fawkes all died in a shootout with the Royal Guard, reminiscent of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid versus the Bolivian Army.
Hey Alanna. I think your summary is fair. It's a celebration now. As a kid my dad would have a bonfire and fireworks in our garden and lots of friends and family were invited. I remember eating jacket potatoes, roasted corn on the cob and toffee apples. All rather fun as a young kid. Now I tend to meet up at a fireworks display with my brother and family.
That sounds lovely!
@@AdventuresAndNaps what don’t you like about our history
It used to be fun as a kid, putting your parka on backwards and sitting outside the pub, 'penny for the guy'.
Last time in the UK 2019 was spoilt not by trick or treaters, but by people setting off fireworks a month early.
I grew up in a small village and rather than individual bonfires we had a village one in a large field. Majority of the kids would collect fire wood from the woods attached to the village and build a huge bonfire for everyone to enjoy. It normally took about 3 days for it to burn out. This was at a time when regardless of your age you could into shops which stocked fireworks and buy them.
I knew the names of the other guys! In fact, if I remember my history lessons, Robert Catesby was more important in the Gunpowder Plot (as one of its architects) than Guy Fawkes (as a mere functionary) - it just so happens that Fawkes is remembered as having been the weak link that caused the plot to be foiled. It's likely that he's also remembered for having been tortured - unlike the video implies, he was racked to the extent that he could barely even hold the pen to sign the confession that sealed his fate and that of his co-conspirators.
Bonfire Night has morphed largely into Fireworks Night since I was a boy, and it rather annoys me that nowadays it spills out over at least two weeks on either side of 5th November. When I was little, the fireworks took place only on that date and that made it all the more exciting. I looked forward to it every year, especially to being in the frosty night air of late autumn in the North West of England waving sparklers, admiring the fire and the explosions, eating chestnuts and drinking hot chocolate. You'd have loved it, Alanna, I suspect!
I'm American-born but my mother and family are British (Leicester in the midlands). I learn so much about my ancestral history and modern England from you it makes me feel out of touch. Time to take a long holiday to the motherland! Thanks Alanna!!
I hope you do get to visit. You would be most welcome!
God Bless America! 🇺🇸
Thank you so much for watching! 🙏
Leicester born and bred here🙋♂️ Nice to meet another person with connections to Leicester. Always welcome to visit.
For me, I think most English people learn about the gunpowder plot and the history of bonfire night as kids. To be honest, as it's a true British historical event, it's an exclusive British tradition that was also celebrated in some countries under the rule of the British empire. The symbol that the king (the most powerful ruler in the world at that time) was saved. And whether people see it that way or not, I think everyone knows why we have bonfire night
As a member of a Bonfire society, I can safely say that in Sussex its the best time of the year. The season starts mid September on Saturday nights and continues until mid November across various villages and towns. Lewes is by far the biggest and the highlight of the season- very crazy. There's a good couple of thousand people taking part in the multiple processions and many tens of thousands of people coming to watch. If you are planning to come down for next year i suggest you sort out where you are staying and how you are getting to/from the town as they usually close the roads and trains. Hope you can make it!
Lewes has six bonfire societies, and many of the surrounding villages and towns in Sussex have one of their own too. These latter tend to celebrate Bonfire in their own localities on days preceding the 5th November, but they join with the Lewes ones on that night for gigantic revelries. Though the majority of bonfire societies are in your neighbouring county East Sussex, your own town in Kent, Alanna, has a very distinguished one, Edenbridge BS (founded in 1928). Who knows, perhaps you will seek to join it yourself (details on their website)!
Celebrated in New Zealand, though without bonfires near wooden houses.
I didn't know that! Interesting stuff.
As a fellow Canadian, from Chatham-Kent. I can say it is still known and may be celebrated or remembered by some, more common in loyalist areas. I am involved with historical groups that mainly portray the War of 1812. Black Powder would have been readily available in that era as others have posted. 1 pound of powder is enough to send a 3lb cannonball almost 1km. So over 2000 lbs would have been shocking. The documentary, The Gunpowder plot: Exploding the legend. Recreated the event and building to show what the effect would have been
Lewes is EASILY the BEST place to celebrate Bonfire Night (and it ain't THAT far from Kent, Honey!). Fantastic fun - and the Police maintain only a discreet and respectful presence. Combine with a pint or two of real ale or cider🙂, walk/stagger down to your chosen (very big) bonfire site (of which there are at least five) after the street processions, and your have the PERFECT recipe for an evening you'll remember forever. Trust me on this! BTW - the Lewes festivities are in fact a TWO-in-one event: the 'traditional' Guy Fawkes Night, but also the COMMEMORATION of the 17 Protestant martyrs who were burnt at the stake there, during the reign of Bloody Mary (a fanatical Catholic - like Guy Fawkes!).
Yes, Lewes has the history and the tradition: it's personal, so it carries on. It's just huge.
There are six bonfire societies, each parading to their own bonfires, so it takes all evening.
Not only does the town shut down, but the St John Ambulance brigade takes over the ambulance service, too, with enough members from Sussex, etc., in attendance.
Wow that's incredible!
@@AdventuresAndNaps Yes, It's something to see! I was part of St John's there in the 90s.
Then there is the banner across Cliffe High Street...NO POPEYE or summat like that😂
Lewes also has the record for deadliest avalanche in UK
So, you couldn't find a decent British documentary that told the actual history then? You disappoint me.
We don't need Halloween, we have bonfire night. Real horror rather than fantasy.
halloween used to be a really big thing in scotland at least . somewhere around the early 90s it started morphing into trick or treating like the american version .now it seems to be dieing out slowly
It has nothing to do with politics. Bonfire Night is a celebration of baked potatoes.
Sounds good to me!
Bonfire night is still celebrated in Canada, but only in Newfoundland and Labrador. It used to be moderately celebrated throughout many parts of Canada, but apart from in Newfoundland and Labrador, celebrating it had died out by the beginning of the 20th century. It's still moderately celebrated in parts of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the former British Caribbean.
I find it amusing that North Americans refer to it as 'holiday'!
They call Christmas the holidays too. Baffling really.
@@amandasmith3716not forgetting Valentine's Day!
As a kid growing up in Scotland I remember 'Guising' whiich involved as making our effigy of Guy Fawkes then taking it around asking people for 'A penny for the guy' which we then spent on fireworks. We would also scour the area collecting any wood to make a bonfire from. This was back in the late '60s/early '70s. We didn't know anything about the history of it, just loved the idea of a big fire and of course the fireworks.
guising was on halloween you went round the doors of your local area and told a joke or a story at each door for a sweet or some form of treat. penny for the guy was making a guy and taking it round or sitting on a corner or outside the local pub or shop asking for money supposedly for materials for the bonfire or the fireworks for the celebration on the 5th of nov.
I think you will find halloween has been very Americanised hence why it has dropped massively in popularity in the UK. In the 90s and before at least in Scotland halloween was a lot more popular than now but kept a lot more traditional than the commercialised version that they do today
NA Halloween and Christmas has ruined a lot of the celebrations in the UK.
@@Yandarval What? Halloween and christmas ARE two of the few celebrations we have in the UK.
@@hardywatkins7737 As it it has become much more commercial and Americanised over the last 30-40 years.
@@Yandarval How do you mean 'Americanised'? I can't see much has changed, except that it's somewhat less popular now.
Pumpkins...
I remember Catherine wheels not spinning on the washing line post. rockets clattering on neighbour's sheds. bonfires in everyone's gardens .drawing shapes with sparklers. baked potatoes in the fire and mulled elderberry wine with bits of orange and cloves floating in it.
Every british child learns the story of Guy Fawkes, through the classic rhyme: "Remember remember the 5th of November, the gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot." But it's mostly a fun exciting night in the dark of winter, bonfires, fireworks and 'penny for the guy'.
Two suggestions for you:
1) There was a documentary in the early 2000s, presented by Richard Hammond, where they built a mockup of the period house of parliament, stacked 36 barrels of real gunpowder in the undercroft, then retreated to a safe distance and lit the fuse. The explosion has to be been to be believed.
2) The movie V for Vendetta, that draws heavy inspiration from the Guy Fawkes story in places.
Halloween started in the UK. That American statement made no sense.
To my mind the most amazing Bonfire Night traditions are Lewes (which you saw) for the scale and commitment, and also Ottery St Mary in Devon where they run flaming barrels of tar down the street - the barrels range from little ones for children to carry on their backs(!) up to a giant one which requires four large men to carry on their backs together. Don’t worry though - they’re protected from the flames by rugby shirts and oven gloves.
I too am from Kent but I happened to be in Lewes for work one year on November 5th. I can confirm that the celebrations are actually mad, with all those flaming items being dragged through the High Street. Really glad I was able to experience it.
My distant cousin, Canadian pop singer Bryan Adams' middle name is Guy and his birthday is 5th November. Yep, he has British ancestry.
Allannah the nursery Rhyme that we learned in school is as follows" Remember Remember the 5th of November!!
GUNPOWDER, TREASON & PLOT!!
For I see no reason for the Gunpowder Treason to Ever be Forgot ?? This was not the modern Houses of Parliament but the old Westminster Palace that later burned down all that is left today is Westminster Hall & the Jewel Tower!!
In 1605 the slouch hat gained a raised crown, but the brim was wide, because its purpose was to shield from rain and, in war, to keep the rain from extinguishing a musketeer's match.
By the 1630s the crown was much lower and the hat more floppy, but always with a wide brim. (I was in the English Civil War Society and had a slouch hat). You can buy one at the stalls if you go to watch an ECWS major event. (Or a Sealed Knot event).
Guy Fawkes became famous as the person who was caught with the gunpowder; but Robert Catesby was the ringleader of the Gunpowder Plot.
It brings memories of going out with our 'Guy' on our 4 wheel cart and asking for 'penny for the guy' . The guy was old clothes stuffed with newspaper and a masked head. Any money taken was used to buy fireworks. I always remember a man said we were beggars once and that put us off a bit. I can't see that happening any more. The stuffed guy was thrown on the bonfire. It used to be a popular event.
Hi Alana, my bonfire nights was in the late 50s and 60s in the Black Country on the edge of the countryside.
The rime we all learned at school
Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, gunpowder treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.
Bonfire night actually started for us kids about a month before because we used to have the bonfire at home in the garden out the back. At that time there was two priorities
1. Getting the firewood and any wood would do, from the hedge rows last years old bed frames etc.
2. Building “a Guy” this was made from old clothes and any materials we (as kids ) could find and scrounge!
3. Getting money for fireworks.
The fire wood was got, as said, from the local area hedge rows, near the brooks and streams where trees were abundant dragging it home between us. We even used small choppers if there was no wind broken branches. The old bed carcasses from any old dumps that might be local. It took us weeks to get much you know us 10 to 14 year olds couldn’t carry much.
The Guy was a bit of a team effort with the mums and us kids. Mums sowing the old cloths together in what we now know as a mannequin from old trousers and jumpers and tee shirts, you know the throw away’s, and shoes. They also made the head probably with an old cap or Woolley hat. Us kids would find loads of old newspapers and material to stuff the Guy with.
To get the fireworks or rather the money for fireworks, we’ll that needed the Guy. We would go round the streets knocking doors for the traditional “Penny for the Guy” scrounging demand from the neighbours, this was together with down the village shops for the same reason getting all the pennies we could for buying fire works. This would be more successful with a good looking Guy of course.
The week before the night would be when we’d build the bonfire. These weren’t that big of course back garden size not big enough for anything much over 4ft tall. Of course we’d give the Dads the money to buy the fireworks of course you couldn’t get many with the the pennies we got for the Guy.
Bonfire night was brilliant. Setting light to the fire, putting potatoes around the base for roasting and the mums making the peas pudding etc. Dads lit the fireworks as long as they lasted. It was exciting and marvellous but it was all about families joining together to make a night of it. There was no Halloween though that’s a Scottish tradition nothing to do with us.
That was our traditional bonfire night families and kids coming together because it was traditional.
Strangely enough It was at Holbeche (we pronounce it Holbeach) House in Wall Heath, near Dudley, where many of the plotters made their last stand - just down the road from Himley Hall. The strange bit was that was my village growing up never really heard any of that while at school. Just a 1/2 mile from our house, only found this out in later years.
You will have to go to your local Fireworks display I’m afraid!! No penny for the Guy for you my girl your too old!! Ha!
We used to go to Dartmouth Park in West Brom as a kid in the 90s.
As a kid, I enjoyed watching the fireworks but as an adult, I enjoy lighting the fireworks.
In the West Country the celebrations are called Carnival and there are a series of them in various towns with competitive clubs building decorative floats. The Largest of these is probably Bridgwater which dates from 1605. The towns were strongly Protestant back then and one of the plot instigators was from the area. Carnival nowadays is less Guy Fawkes/Gunpowder Plot themed, the fireworks are called "Squibs". It is not a coincidence that it's also the new seasons Cider production. The same clubs turn out for "Wassailing" in New Year to encourage the Apple Trees, a more Pagan Celebration. It involves cider soaked toast and firearms.
New mic makes you sound like you are on local radio. Lewes (said the same way as Lewis) is unusual in that it takes the religious war to a new level by burning an effigy of the pope every year (!!!) Some of the models have been quite impressive to look at.
I thought Alanna had been drinking until I realized the playback speed was set to 0.75 !
I agree it's more "tradition" than a holiday. It's more common to be known as "fireworks night", well in Scotland anyway. Talking of Scotland and Halloween, did you know a lot of the "American" traditions are actually from old Scottish traditions to celebrate All Hallow's Eve?
Excuse me…??? How do you work that out..? All hallows eve is not just Scottish , it’s Celtic and despite what you Scots Irish and Welsh like to believe there were Celts ALL OVER Britain ..quite a lot in the North… the difference is we don’t witter on about it all the time and it’s name was Samhain 🙄🇬🇧
I am almost 70 years old and I can tell you that we all learned about Guy Fawkes in Primary School. In secondary school I studied the Stuarts and the 18th Century in British History as part of my History A Levels, so we went through the Gunpowder/Catesby/Popish Plot in more detail. So obviously nothing in those videos was a surprise.
What they might have told you is that King James I had already been King James VI of Scotland so when Queen Elizabeth I died without a nearer heir, he succeeded her and there was a Union of the Crowns (so he is known as James I + VIth). So that's what Guy Fawkes meant when he said he'd been intending to blow the King back to his Scottish mountains.
It was a plot that, had it succeeded, would have blown up a LARGE chunk of London and particularly the King and Parliament.
I can't imagine people celebrating Guy Fawkes as a "valiant but failed attempt against the authorities" but it is true that occasionally, when Parliament suggests something off-the-wall, people may say "Where is Guy Fawkes when you need him..".
When (tomorrow??) The King's Speech is read to Parliament and at the Opening of Parliament, there is a ritual search of the cellars beforehand "just in case".
All good stuff but I agree that for most, especially children, Bonfire Night is an excuse to have fun around a bonfire, watch some fireworks set off and have some sweets etc.
The hats are a fashion from roughly the same time as the Mayflower pilgrims. I've read the buckles are a bit of ridiculing from outsiders but the basic hat is quite similar.
Yes, you are right that it is (or was in my day) more of a tradition than anything else. It was about the event not the message but the message was still there in the background with the effigies and the message was definitely there at school. As kids we also celebrated him as an anti-government rebel (which wasn't approved of) and IMO, we could do with him again. At least figuratively, if not literally.
Brit here , I am 66 and when I was 9 years old my sister and brother who were older than me dressed me up as Guy Fawkes and push me round in a pram in our town to ask for penny for the guy we had a good bonfire night .😁
The adoption of Fawkes as a folk hero is relatively new, and is largely a result of the 'graphic novel' and subsequent movie 'V'. For a while the mask used in 'V' representing Fawkes was a very common thing seen at protests - I have even seen it worn at protests in Canada. Despite not being 'my sort of thing' I'd recommend watching the movie, it’s quite good.
My wife and I got a engaged in 1992 on this day. We are from Newfoundland Canade❤
This was still big in the 80s. Sadly like many things American corporate greed has imposed its culture on us
Depending on what you feel about the Government there's some debate as to whether Bonfire night is celebrating Guy Fawkes FAILING to blow up Parliament, or for giving it a jolly good go!😁
As you may have heard before Guy fawkes is often called the only man to enter Parliament with honest intentions!🤔
When I was a kid Bonfire night was much bigger than Halloween, which was largely ignored. These days Halloween has become increasingly popular for several reasons:
1) American media and culture influencing kids.
2) Parents view it as safer, with less chance of their children ending up in casualty.
3) Halloween has greater commercial opportunities and appeal.
4) Fancy-dress parties, especially with students.
As a child my family would celebrate Bonfire night with the people next door on Nov 5th itself. During the day we'd all go to the local woods to get stuff for the bonfire and make a guy (like a scarecrow) out of old clothes stuffed with newspaper, etc.
We's also help(?) our mums make lots of goodies like fudge, flapjacks,toffee apples, rice-crispie & chocolate cakes, etc. Then in the evening we'd light the bonfire, let off some cheap fireworks, write your name with sparklers and bake potatoes wrapped in tin-foil in the fire to eat with the other munchies.
Then at the weekend we'd go to a big public firework display.
N.B. 20 shillings = one pound, so 2 shillings = 10p. Obviously back in the day you could get a lot more for 2 shillings than 10 pence today.
Lewes is bonkers and a tad wild. Sussex is the best place for bonfire parades and Lewes is the best. Been a few times and can be scary. The town shuts and you need to plan the visit as roads in are closed, buses don’t run and the rail station closed. Cliffe bonfire after the parade is huge and probably the best of the Lewes bonfire societies.
Do they still burn an effigy of the Pope there?
@@toni-kakuyes
Lewes is the biggest anywhere outside of London.
The roads are closed but the train station stays open, last I heard.
@@toni-kaku I believe it is an effigy of the Pope at the time of the plot, rather than current Pope.
He was burned as it was believed that he was part of the plot.
Other people are also burned (in effigy), often the current Prime Minister.
Trains no longer stop there on bonfire day, at least they didn’t last year. It’s to keep the crowds down as it was getting dangerous. The Pope effigy is still burned but not because of the bonfire plot. The Catholic Queen Mary had 17 Protestants burned and they are known as the Lewes martyrs. The Pope is burned because of that even though he didn’t have anything to do with it. 17 burning crosses are carried in the parade in memory of their sacrifice.
We had no need for Halloween while growing up, First we would make our Guy, then we would go out asking, Penny for the Guy, to get money to buy Fireworks, plus we would be trying to make sure our bonfire was bigger than the neighbours, we were also allowed to light most of the fireworks, plus more fireworks could be held in a gloved hand then. Our parents would make toffee Apples, treacle toffee and other treats. Halloween to us seemed a poor substitute, compared to the Guy Fawkes night of my youth it is.
Halloween is purely for kids really i think. Guy Fawkes night is for everyone of all ages.
I've never been in Britain for Bonfire Night. On my "bucket list" is going to Otter St Mary in Devon for Bonfire Night so I can see the villagers run through the street with flaming tar barrels on their backs!
Alanna, you nailed bonfire night and Christmas. 100% agree.
🙏
I was with a friend once and he asked this British guy if the had the 4th of July in England.
He said, "Of course. But our 4th of July is like your 5th of November?"
"But what's special about the 5th of November?"
"Exactly."
This confused my friend and I felt a powerful need to redeem my own country, so I said, "Dude, Remember Remember the 5th of November."
The English guy looked at me, clearly impressed. This confused my friend even more, which made the English guy and me start to laugh.
I finally told him about the gunpowder plot and how it's celebrated on the 5th of November.
Do you think Bonfire night was ever celebrated in the Colonies?
Bonfire night was amazing when i was a kid. You got to play with fireworks and make money through penny for the Guy. It was second only to Christmas.
Most European and Indo-European and northern hemisphere based cultures have an autumn post-harvest 'festival of lights' celebration as the autumn equinox comes around.
Its linked to pre-Christian traditions that sneaked past the introduction of Christainity.
It usually involves bonfires and torches etc.
Every few centuries a new reason to have it is introduced to ignore the pagan roots.
In north america they adopted Halloween as the excuse to continue the celebration
Until the 1980's we did not really celebrate Halloween and so Guy Fawkes night or 'bonfire night' was our big autumn festival of lights.
I think the Discovery program is wrong. I don't think any British person celebrates Guy Fawkes as 'rebel'. I don't think it even occurs to them.
Its just an old tradition with a new face. The same celebration was happening before the Roman's turned up. It was celebrated by them and was continued by the Anglo-Saxons as a Germanic autumn celebration. Plenty of pagan beliefs managed to survive Christainity like Beltain/Walpurgis'(May day), Eostre (Easter), Samhain (Halloween) Yule (Christmas).
You could probably include 'Well dressing' and morris dancing' too, because I think its safe to assume they have pagan origins. Oh and don't forget 'wassailing'.
Not really correct.
There was no English tradition of bonfires in the Autumn months before 1605 and the Gunpowder Plot - the seasons for fires in England was Midsummer and New Year.
Beltain was an Irish festivity (and in those areas of Irish influence) and didn't occur in England.
Easter isn't pagan - there is only one reference to the supposed spring goddess 'Eostre' with no corroborative evidence.
Halloween is a mixture of the Irish Samhain, the Christian feasts of All Saints & All Souls and Hollywood.
That there was a festival of Yule is debatable as there is little evidence - the Danes in England called the festival of the Nativity 'Yule'.
Well Dressing, Morris Dancing and Wassailing are not pagan in origin - medieval or later.
When i was a kid in the 70's, we went out trick or treating
@@Wotsitorlabart "Well Dressing, Morris Dancing and Wassailing are not pagan in origin - medieval or later."
- I'd add maypole dancing to that list, but i suspected those are all much later traditions.
@@hardywatkins7737
Yes, earliest references to maypoles in England (although actually in a Welsh poem) are mid 14th century.
Well Dressing 18th/19th century.
Morris Dancing - mid 15th century.
Wassailing the trees - earliest reference Kent 1585.
yes we did that wrap up potatoes tin tin foil let them cook the skin was burnt but the potatoe i remember as being better than a jacket potatoe standing round a bonfire and watching fireworks going off sometimes i would throw throw in fireworks in the bonfire it looked nice (i was having a arty faze in my life) oh yes eating parking (its a short of cake) drinking mugs of tea coffee hot chocolate also eating sandwitches though maybe not in that order then we all take it in turns to say what we are looking forward to for the rest of the year
Nice to hear the Thunderbirds theme on the Bonfire parade video.
England: Guy Fawkes
This narrator: Guy Fox
Halloween not big in the uk ???? It started here but was Commercialized in the us its now lost its meaning in us you sould do the history of it
I highly recommend a documentary called "The Gunpowder plot: Exploding the Legend". It's hosted by Richard Hammond, and it goes through the history of the plot while setting up a Mythbusters style "test" of the possible result - they built a representative "replica" of the Parliament building at the time, put 36 barrels of gunpowder under it and set them off!
Punisher tended to be nasty. When the monarchy was restored they dug Cromwell up and tried him for treason.
That's so vindictive!! 🤣
The English Parliament were cowardly & clueless after Oliver Cromwell died. They invited back a monarch & the House of Lords in a counter-revolution that re-installed remnants of feudalism that has held Britain's development back that remains here still. They partially reversed the counter-revolution in 1688-89 but the remnants of feudalism remain to this day. Digging up a corpse and hanging it is the spite of defeated forces who always lost when Oliver Cromwell was alive. The corpse was used as a terrorist device against the population and rotting bodies were often used like this.
Lewes doesn't have one of the largest bonfire celebrations in the country, it has seven of the largest bonfire celebrations in the country with rival societies competing with each other.
New year's eve: excuse to get drunk while watching 5 minutes of fireworks. Easter: excuse to eat chocolate. Halloween: (trick or treat etc.apparently started in Scotland) time for the shops to put out Christmas stuff. Bonfire night:5 minutes of fireworks. Christmas: excuse to eat and drink too much. True meanings of all are optional.
You're right it's about tradition to us mostly
Nobody in their right mind would celebrate the current regime surviving. We need a new Guy Fawkes for today. Sorry RUclips 🤣
Decimalisation, (when the UK got rid of Pounds Shillings and Pence) was on the 15th of February 1971. At that time, a 2 shillings silver coin was worth 10p. Decimalisation at that time came to be called 'new money' as all the coins and bank notes changed overnight. 'Old money' was pre-decimal. In old money there were 240 pence in a pound. There were 10 shilling notes, pound notes, half-crowns, 2 shilling pieces, thrupenny bits, sixpence pieces, pennies and half-pennies. Some of these old coins and bank notes are now worth quite a bit to collectors. I have just seen a thrupenny bit on ebay, (originally worth 3 old pennies), now going for £995, so have a feel down the back of the settee, as you never know!
Bonfire night descends from traditional pagan autumn fire festivals. A big part of the reason it became Guy Fawkes night was because the Anglican church was desperate to stamp out these last vestiges of heathenry, and so they (like many of the sites of their oldest churches) co-opted things, and slapped it onto a contemporary issue of the day with plenty of religious overtones. The common folk, just wanting to enjoy their autumn fire festivities went with it. Halloween is also descended from ancient Celtic pagan harvest festivals.
We DO have costumes shops but they're usually privately owned (not chain brands) and they're shared costume/joke accessory shops, magic tricks, all that sort of thing. You'll most likely find the town/city;s one costume shop near to a university halls of residence or other student area, because British students love to dress up for Halloween and get drunk.
British Halloween seems to ebb and flow. Some years it's more popular, plenty of trick or treaters, and in other years there's almost nothing (aside from student parties and nightclub events). Bonfire night seems far more muted than it used to be because fireworks are expensive, so is wood, and health & safety regulations getting tighter.
Bonfire Night - Fantastic! Following hot on the heels of all those Samhain Parties, it's Bonfires! Kids making their Guy, (Usually a facsimile of an unpopular politician or celebrity). Chumping for wood. Building the Pile. The excitement of seeing the pile grow. Setting up Guard Duty. And then: the Night itself. Bonfire Toffee, Beer, Jacket Potatoes wrapped in Tin Foil, rescued from the ashes. Later still, Hip Flasks. All the while waiting for the Guy to go up in flames atop the fire. It brings communities together. It accustoms us to the freezing cold, eating and drinking with friends and neighbours, come rain, sleet and ice. I love it.
Those of us who are of our four nations understand the significance of this event as it is a major part of our history, not so much those who identify as British
Do you mean "don't identify as British"? Otherwise, I'm not sure what you mean.
four nations folk identify as English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh & have a long bloodline on these isles, British has in recent decades become a generic term for those who have come from outside the UK and then had children here, before the industrial revolution movement of people was very limited
@@beakybuzzard That's news to me!
I think as time has gone on people are more sympathetic to Guido Fawkes, but fundamentally it has just been about celebration and tradition for the UK.
As funny as it is to imagine the country collectively holding a grudge to the point of burning a man's effigy every year, it is true that most people don't even think about it like that.
I also note that another bonfire night tradition that seems to be dying out is 'penny for the Guy'.
In the 90's me and my friends would make an effigy of Guy Fawkes and then sit outside a shop with it and a bucket and ask passers by "Penny for a Guy?" To which they would either shake their heads or pop some change into the bucket. I think it was a way of 'rating' the quality of your effigy. Later on, we would burn the Guy on the bonfire if we had one.
I don't see that so much now, but it was a fun tradition for kids.
you pause every freaking second. makes it unwatchable🤦🏽♀️🙃
Fun fact, kit Harington Aka John snow from GOT, his ancestor was the mastermind behind the plan Robert catesby, he actually played his ancestor in a show called gunpowder. Imagine that.
About twenty years ago there was a theory going round that the barrels of gunpowder would be insufficient to blow up the Houses of Parliament as they were at that time, so one of the tv stations, Channel 4 I think, held a kind of reconstruction of the Gunpowder Plot using the same amount of gunpowder mixed to the same formula that was used at the time. A building was constructed with a heavy floor and then the powder was set off. The building was blown to smithereens......
Hooray! 😂
when i was a kid i always thought bonfire night was a celebration that someone nearly blew parliament up rather than a celebration because they were caught. also those hats and clothing are typical for the 1600s.
Exactly. We all thought the same. 😂
I suspect this may be something to do with Alan Moore's V. It must be a fairly recent thing to see him as the good guy.
@@BigStib No, it had nothing to do with Alan Moore. This was before all that.
Somebody got a hat obsession 😂
When I was a child Halloween was just some American thing to do with witches, that was sometimes mentioned in books or on TV. It was only about 30 years ago that people started copying the American traditions.
I do know of a costume shop in the market in my home town. It has been there a long time, but is small. I have never bought anything from it.
On Bonfire night we would have a bonfire in my parents garden, burn a guy (my Mum's way of getting rid of the old clothes my Dad wouldn't throw out), and set off fireworks. Then we would have black pea soup (a local tradition), parkin and treacle toffee..
Second best to bonfire night itself when I was a kid was the walk to school the next morning. It would inevitably be foggy due to almost everyone having had a fire in their back garden and we would collect fallen rockets from the road as we went. Kept them for a while then our mothers disappeared them.
Renting the space was another thing that was dubious about the "plot.' Cecil was cunning.
I live in Otley where Sir Guy de Faulkes lived. I look out of my living room window and I can just see the house in the forest we call the chevin. His family still live here.
I live close by, not in Lewes (Loo-issssss) and have been a few times - its an experience that the videos don't quite convey - such as narrow the streets really are, how noisy the fireworks are and how intense the light from the fireworks. There is an air of over protectiveness now which is typified by the closure of roads and the railway station to stop outsiders attending. Despite the rain, the estimate for 2023 was 20,000 visitors but I have attended in torrential rain when the crowds were almost twice that number. Outsiders now park along way outside Lewes and walk in - not easy on unlit country roads, such as the road to Ringmer village. I strongly suggest you attend in the next few years - it really is worth the effort. Not shown in the videos is that there are five bonfire societies in Lewes and each has a large bonfire and firework display which can be viewed from miles away but is better experienced close to. ... and finally, the parade walkers are not dressed as pirates in stripy jumpers - they denote the Sussex bonfires societies who raise large sums of charity money each year. Each society has it own local event which starts mid September and ends mid November.
Availability of gunpowder - 16 years earlier a group of PRIVATE shipowners fought off an Armada from Spain - so yes
check out Bridgewater Guy Fawkes carnival, and ottery st mary tar barrels which is nuts.
Im from very near Lewes in East Sussex. They take it very seriously here in East Sussex. It a tradition steeped in history and its a fantastic evening and a must for any tourist visiting around Bonfire night. Years ago we made a "GUY" and asked people Penny for the Guy and bought fireworks with the money. Not sure you can do that these days. We still burn a guy on the bonfire and eat Jacket potatoes and hold sparklers.
i went to the Grammar School in Lewes. the school is over 500 years old and like the town its steeped in history. bonfire night was the highlight if our year. it was pure carnage, exciting and dangerous. With the Castle and the tight streets totally full of people the atmosphere was incredible. Lewes also had the most pubs per capita in the country so lots of booze (starting at 14 lol, everyone used to get served). its a bit more tame these days but still worth a visit for sure.
That'll be the Old Grammar School, not Mountfield Road. I hope yours did you more good than mine did me , became Comp. in my last year.
@@mystified1429 yeh it was the old grammar school, i always thought the other grammar school was just a girls school? did it change to the priory school, what year was that?
@@anthonyjarvis9472 The Girls was near Southover Grange gardens and the boys was Mountfield rd. Next to the Sec. Mod. with a big fence round it ! Both changed in 1969 to Comp. and the fence was pulled down. Then called Priory school. Made me a Socialist because of it's elitism.There was a mix of good teachers and total eejits. LOL. Hope you did well @ yours, and it was worthwhile.😀
Back in the sixties when I was a child, a group of us would make up a Guy in old clothes stuffed with newspaper. Then we’d go out in the street and ask passers by for ‘a penny for the Guy’.
On the 5th November we’d have fireworks and a bonfire in someone’s back garden and burn the Guy. I can remember my Dad setting off rockets that were propped up in a milk bottle!
Bonfire night now is nothing like it used to be, it’s very diminished these days.
we do hallowe'en here, its an ancient druid festival (samhain[saa'wyn]) - but we celebrate it slightly differently. The 'trick or treat' part is quite american but it comes from 'guising', that Irish and Scottish like to claim is exclusively from them but was ubiquitous across the isles.
For us it's like the darker myth side of something like Dia de los muertas, witchcraft etc, rather than costumes and sweets - on hallowe'en there are many haunted mansion tours(eg; Chillingham castle)
The Horrible Histories clips about 5 November are hilarious and tell the story well
Woohoo!👋🏻 you should go to Bridgwater Carnival, it will blow your mind!
Guy Fawkes was the best person ever to enter Parliament
Halloween started in Scotland and Ireland. The Scottish craved turnips.
King James was king of Scotland and later became king of England too. He tried to unite the two countries but there was always mistrust from both sides of the border.
At school in the 60s we learnt about General James Wolfe (2 January 1727 - 13 September 1759) he was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec.
James Wolfe was born at the local vicarage on 2 January 1727 (New Style or 22 December 1726 Old Style) at Westerham, Kent, the older of two sons of Colonel (later Lieutenant General) Edward Wolfe,[1] a veteran soldier whose family was of Anglo-Irish origin, and the former Henrietta Thompson. His uncle was Edward Thompson MP, a distinguished politician. Wolfe's childhood home in Westerham, known in his lifetime as Spiers, has been preserved in his memory by the National Trust under the name Quebec House.[2] Wolfe's family were long settled in Ireland and he regularly corresponded with his uncle Major Walter Wolfe in Dublin. Stephen Woulfe, the distinguished Irish politician and judge of the next century, was from the Limerick branch of the same family; his father was James Wolfe's third cousin.
The Wolfes were close to the Warde family, who lived at Squerryes Court in Westerham. Wolfe's boyhood friend George Warde achieved fame as Commander-in-Chief in Ireland.
Wikipedia.
Brits today don't care about the reason for bonfire night. To them is just an excuse to have a night of festivities on a cold winters night, with a few bevvies thrown in for the adults.
8:54 Two Wrights make a wrong
We do learn a bit more about the conspirators in the gunpowder plot in our history lessons at school in the UK.
Kit Harington from game of thrones us related to Robert catesby
The guy (sorry) on the extreme right,Robert Catesby,was the real mastermind behind the plot.
Guy Fawkes was nothing more than a mercenary foot soldier.