a group of people holding torches and fire

I was in London on Guy Fawkes Day, which went from somewhat cute to annoying when the neighbors went overboard with the fireworks…

Guy Fawkes Day In London

As I stepped off the London Underground, I heard the crackle of firecrackers and saw fireworks bursting overhead. I didn’t give it much thought, but as I walked to my sister-in-law’s house, the fireworks continued. My brother-in-law, who is quite the humorous one, greeted me with, “Let’s burn the Catholics!” Ah, yes, it was Guy Fawkes Day.

Guy Fawkes Day, observed each year on November 5th in England, commemorates the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Guy Fawkes was part of a group of English Catholics who conspired to blow up the Houses of Parliament during the State Opening, hoping to kill King James I and restore a Catholic monarch. Fawkes was discovered guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder beneath Parliament and arrested. He was tortured in the Tower of London until he revealed details of the plot and was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered, though he avoided this fate by jumping from the scaffold and breaking his neck.

The government encouraged annual celebrations of the plot’s failure, and November 5th evolved into “Bonfire Night,” with fireworks and the burning of effigies (“Guys”). Today it is a largely secular cultural festival, though its origins in political violence remain widely remembered.

It was the first time I’ve been in the UK on this holiday and I thought it was an interesting cultural phenomenon going back to when the country was much more Protestant.

As we ate dinner, the fireworks not only continued, but increased in frequency and intensity as the neighbors seemed to have an endless supply of fireworks. That was all fine and good until one of the fireworks slipped while the fuse was burning, so instead of launching vertically, it launched horizontally…toward the house. The emerald green firework exploded outside the window, creating a deafening BOOM and rattling the windows.

You’d think after that mishap, the fireworks would stop, but they continued…and the same thing happened again! There were three children under four in the house and it all felt so unnecessary to me…though fireworks are legal in London and opening the window and yelling at the neighbors was probably not going to accomplish much.

Years ago, I was launching fireworks myself when one also slipped and launched…directly at me. Thankfully, it veered left and explored over the swimming pool was I standing next to. Had it exploded over me, I might not be typing this today…ever since that incident, I’ve been reluctant to launch fireworks myself, which was only reinforced in Germany on New Year’s a few years back when a firework exploded in front of us on New Year’s Eve.

So yes, an interesting Guy Fawkes Day for me in London, but I do prefer to watch fireworks from a distance…

image: Peter Trimming