Night of Guy Fawkes- November 5

The night of the gunpowder is the night of firecamps and firecrackers in the UK, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, Canada, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Australia, to celebrate the failure of the gunpowder plot, a plot of Catholic rebels led by Guy Fawkes, to kill England King James I by bombing the House of Lords in London.

The night of the bonfire is also called Guy Fawkes Night, Bonfire Night, Fireworks Night and Plot Night.

  
It is an informal holiday in which it is customary to light bonfires and eat roasted potatoes in a bonfire wrapped in aluminum foil. They also fire fireworks and burn dolls in the form of Guy Fawkes, who was the gunpowder expert that was supposed to detonate the bomb he had prepared in the basement of the House of Lords.

  The children have a favorite holiday: they eat a candy called "bonfires toffee" near the fire, a caramel apple and a Perkin cake.

In Australia, Guy Fawkes' night was celebrated with a lot of fireworks, so they called it "Cracker Night". In the 1960s, Australian states banned free fireworks from the general public because of the danger, and since then the popularity of the holiday has faded. In New Zealand to this day to this day celebrate with fireworks.

What was the gunpowder plot?

The Gunpowder Plot was an attempt by a group of Catholic extremists to murder King James I of England, his family and most of the Protestant aristocracy by blowing up the Westminster Palace in 1605 during the opening ceremony of the Parliament to obtain rights for Catholics.

They also plotted to kidnap and murder the king's children who were not present at the ceremony.

The original plan was to dig a tunnel from a distant basement to the House of Lords and place the explosives there, but at the end one of the conspirators, Thomas Percy, managed to rent a cellar under the House of Lords and there was no need to mine the tunnel.

Guy Fuchs filled the basement with gunpowder gradually, until by March 1605 there were 36 barrels containing 2.5 tons of gunpowder that could have destroyed all the structures in the Westminster Palace including Westminster Abbey, if they had exploded.

Fox's job was to blow up the barrels of gunpowder while his friends waited in Dunchurch, Warwickshire, for the consequences of the plot.

How did the plot fail?

The members of the plot group feared that the Catholics would be hit by the blast. One of them, apparently Francis Treshem, wrote on October 26 a letter to Catholic Lord William Parker-Lord Montagel, warning him against the planned explosion. Lord Montagall showed the letter to Robert Cecil, the Secretary of State. Following the letter, the palace guard searched all the basements below, until on November 5, Judge Thomas Kenneth, accompanied by an armed guard, caught Fawkes holding a watch and matches, and then discovered barrels full of explosives. Fawkes promptly admitted the plot with pride and was sent to prison at London Fort, where he gave the names of the rest of the group after being tortured.

Guy Fawkes and his teammates were executed on 31 January 1606 in the courtyard of the old palace in Westminster by hanging. 

Results of plot failure

The plot was intended to grant rights to Catholics, but instead the rights were revoked and they were accepted only after two hundred years.

More interesting facts about the failed gunpowder scheme:

Literary scholars believe William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" was inspired by the plot.

The word "Guy" in English - which means a generic term for a person - comes from Guy Fawkes, whose name was shouted at the bonfires.

  Every year, before the opening ceremony of the British parliament, members of the Parliament Guard conduct a ceremonial search for explosive charges in all rooms of the Parliament building.

  The cellar in which the barrels were hidden was destroyed in the fire in 1834.

The lantern that Fox carried in his hand while he was caught is being exhibited at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

Link to Ashmolean Museum

link

The mask of Anonymous - the activists who want to remain anonymous, was inspired by Guy Fawkes' face, following the film V for Vendetta, which was released in 2006, inspired by the plot and used in this mask.

November 5 is also Love Your Red Hair Day

All Souls' Day - November 2

Along with the holidays of Halloween, and the day after that, the Day of the Dead, there is another day that is celebrated in honor of the dead and it is called "All Souls' Day". All Souls' Day is a holiday that Catholic Christians celebrate every year, on November 2, in honor of their deceased loved ones.

The holiday is celebrated in many places in the world where there are Catholic communities and the celebration lasts more often than two days.

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The holiday is celebrated with meals in memory of the dead and ceremonies in cemeteries with lit candles, marigold flowers (known in Spanish: Flor de Muerto - the flowers of death, which they believe call the spirits of the dead), incense, pictures or other souvenirs from the dead. Some people decorate with skulls that are made of paper or make and eat sugar skulls. There are also spectacular processions of skeletons and spirits, and cardboard coffins from which fake skeletons jump at random times.

In South America this day celebration is given special importance and has a special character. The traditional purpose of the holiday is to help, through prayer, the souls of loved ones who desire to be cleansed from their sins and come out of the addict to heaven.

The crucible is the place that is after death, between the world of life and heaven, where the soul of the one who has not sinned in his life sins of death is carried out. He who has committed the sins of death for which there is no atonement cannot pass purification and is condemned to hell.

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 November 2 is also Cookie Monster's birthday and  Look for Circles Day

Day of the Dead - November 1

Despite the scary and perhaps also depressing name, Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos, Día de los Difuntos or, Día de Muertos) is a day of happy and cheerful celebration celebrated with costumes, carnivals and dances.

Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday dedicated to the memory of the fathers who passed away. It is celebrated on the first and second days of November, the day Christians celebrate Halloween (which comes after Halloween) and the day before all the souls of the Catholic Church.

The holiday is celebrated with a cheerful and happy carnival in Mexico and other places where there are large Mexican communities.

During the day it is customary to go to cemeteries and churches and bring the dead gifts such as bottles of tequila, candles and flowers. People come to the carnival in skeleton and mask costumes or make-up of creative skulls, walking around with dolls of the dead and dancing.

In the photo: a grave with gifts and candles

Other countries that celebrate the Day of the Dead are the Philippines, Brazil and other countries in Latin America.

The origin of the holiday is the cultures of the original natives of the American continent (mistakenly referred to as "Indians") - the Aztec culture, the Mayan culture, the Porfercha, the Nahuel and the Totonak.

Painting: Large electric skull, by Mexican painter Jose Guadeloupe Posada

In Aztec culture the Day of the Dead is celebrated in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, starting in early August, for an entire month. The holiday is considered the feast of the goddess Miktakakiwadel, "Goddess of the Dead," during which ceremonies were held for the souls of the dead relatives.

When Mexico was conquered by the Spaniards in the 15th century, Christian missionaries worked to eradicate the pagan holiday, and did so by postponing the holiday and uniting it with the Catholic holiday, All Saints' Day, which was held on the first day of November.

November 1 is also World Vegan Day and Go Cook For Your Pets Day