Bonfire Night started when a conspirator named Guy Fawkes decided to commit treason and blew up the House of Parliament with the ”Gunpowder Plot”.
The group members started having second thoughts and one of them even sent an anonymous letter to his friend (the King), warning him to stay away from the Parliament on November 5th.
Guy Fawkes was caught with 36 barrels of gunpowder and was sentenced to execution.
What happens on Bonfire Night?
The event is commemorated every year with fireworks and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes on Bonfire Night.
A bonfire is a large controlled outdoor fire made from bales of straw or woods believed to come from ‘bone fire.’
Many people light bonfires and set off fireworks.
In some cities and towns, the municipality organise a bonfire in a park with firework displays. The fireworks are a reminder of the gunpowder Guy Fawkes hid in the cellar of Parliament.
The traditional cake eaten on Bonfire Night is called Parkin cake, a sticky cake containing a mix of oatmeal, ginger, treacle and syrup.
Toffee apples are also a family favourite.
One interviewee informed us that he had a vet on stand-by during Bonfire Night for his dogs and horses:
Should we be celebrating Guy Fawkes’ act of terrorism every year?
We believe that celebrating Bonfire Night is wrong because we wouldn’t celebrate the deaths of any other terrorist or terror organisation.
We also believe that Bonfire Night would not be morally or ethically acceptable to celebrate because it is not a suitable holiday to celebrate with pets such as dogs, horses etc.
If you're having a bonfire tonight please check it for wildlife like hedgehogs, toads and newts before setting it alight. #BonfireNight pic.twitter.com/kD6RwJCYzH
— The Wildlife Trusts (@WildlifeTrusts) November 4, 2018
This is the effect fireworks can have on a dog. #BonfireNight pic.twitter.com/inK5CPQ7kJ
— BBC (@BBC) November 5, 2018
Contributors: Callum Kay, James Southern, Ikrah Hussain and Georgia Blemenou.
