Ніч Салютів у Великобританії

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“Remember, remember the 5^th of November…”

 Plan.

1. Introduction.

2. Guy Fawkes and historical events.

2.1. Gunpowder Plot.

2.2. The discovering of Gunpowder Plot.

2.3. The celebration for the king.

3. The traditions of Guy Fawkes’ Day.

3.1. Guy Fawkes’ Night in different cities of Great Britain.

3.2. Penny for the Guy.

4. The celebrations of Bonfire Night nowadays.

4.1. Do’s and Don’ts on Bonfire Night.

5. Guy Fawkes’ Verses.

6. Summary.

7. References.

1. Introduction.

The best part about early November in Britain is the fact that people finish trick or treating and start preparing for Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire Night. Count­less numbers of people scour their neighbourhoods for wood to build bonfires. Others are out buying increasingly spectacular fireworks. Some stay at home making toffee and parking, while others concentrate on the most important part: building the guy out of old clothes stuffed with newspapers, ready to burn on top of bonfire.

Guy Fawkes' Night is a well-established British festivity.The story of Guy Fawkes goes back to the early 1600's. During this period there were religious problems between Protestants and Catholics in Britain. Many people in Britain at the time were Catholics, but the King, James I, was a Protestant. He passed some very strict laws against the Catholics and forbade them to hold religious services.

A group of thirteen Catholics, including a man called Guy Fawkes, decided to kill the King by blowing up the Houses of Parliament.They planned to destroy the Houses of Parliament on the fifth of November 1605, when the King was present.The plotters placed more than thirty barrels of gunpowder in the cellar under the Houses of Parliament. The plan became known as the Gunpowder Plot.

2. Guy Fawkes and historical events.

Guy Fawkes' real name was Guido Fawkes. He was born in York on April 13, 1570. His father Ed­ward Fawkes was a proctor and an advocate in the constituary court of York. He brought his son up as a real protestant. But in 1578 Edward Fawkes died, and nine years later Guy's mother remarried. His step-father was a Catholic, and it was he who influenced the young Guy greatly. So, Guy Fawkes con­verted to Catholicism. But those times were not the happiest in the life of the Catholics in England.

Under Hem, VIII (1509-1547) England joined the reformation and split from the Catholic Church to form the Church of England, following the Pope's refusal to let Henry divorce Catherine of Aragon in 1529. The English expected to swear allegiance to Henry and accept him as the head of English Church. Certainly much of the Catholic Church property was destroyed, and the real Catholics had to be under­ground.

Edward VI (1547-1553) separated the new En­glish Church even further. But Queen Mary Tudor (1553-1558) tried to restore the old Faith. However, the Restoration was short-lived, and Mary I died in 1558 succeeded by Elizabeth I (1558-1603) who hit the Catholics much harder than before. Catholicism was banned, so the Catholics met in security. Many Catholic priests who had been caught were killed. In 1603, James I (1603-1625) introduced a policy which was called "relaxed persecution". But the Catholics were not in a position to relax for it did not take James long to start persecuting the Catholics harder than ever. Many of them felt that his actions were even more treacherous than those of his predeces­sors. So, the Catholics had to continue their religion covertly in secret!

Religion and faith have always been important in the lives of many people. Religion has been the cause of many disputes, wars and conflicts throughout his­tory. Religion was the reason for the events on No­vember 5, 1605 known as Bonfire Night.

2.1. Gunpowder Plot.

In 1603, the group of young Catholics leaded by Robert Catesby, a Catholic who had taken part in the Essex Rebellion of 1601, organised a conspirato­rial band intending to struggle for the rights of re­mained Catholics in England. They had a plan called the Gunpowder Plot — to blow up the Houses of Parliament at the start of the new session when the King and most of the leading nobles and ministers would be present.

With them dead and the country in chaos, they could start to widespread their religion and bring Ca­tholicism gloriously back to England. To carry out the Plot, the conspirators got hold of 36 barrels of gunpowder and stored it in a cellar, just under the House of Parliament. Guy Fawkes was the member of the group who had to light the fuse that would set off the explosion. He became the 13^th participant of the Gunpowder Plot, joining Robert Catesby, Sir Everald Digby, John Grant, Thomas Percy, Robert Keyes, Ambrose Rookwood, Thomas Wintour, Robert Wintour, John Wright, Christopher Wright, Tho­mas Bates and Francis Tresham in May 1604.

2.2. The discovering of Gunpowder Plot.

As the group worked on the plot, it became clear that some innocent people would be hurt or killed in the attack. Some of the plotters started having second thoughts. One of the group members even sent an anonymous letter warning his friend, Lord Monteagle, to stay away from Parliament on November 5. The warning letter reached the King, and King's forces made plans to stop the conspirators.

Guy Fawkes, who was in the cellar of the Parlia­ment with 36 barrels of gunpowder when the au­thorities stormed it in the early hours of November 5, 1605, was caught.

For two days Guy was the only suspect in cus­tody, and his name became synonymous with the Powder Treason. After severe torture he dis­closed the names of his accomplices. Soon many conspirators were caught or killed. All imprisoned plotters were executed publicly in March 1607. They were "hanged, drawn and quartered", a brutal practice which authorities hoped would instill terror in other potential traitors.

2.3. The celebration for the king.

In 1606, on the anniversary of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot being foiled, bonfires were lit for the first time in London to burn effigies of Guy Fawkes, and fireworks were let off in defiant celebration all over England. For the King was saved, and Guy Fawkes was hanged. As early as 1607 there are records of bonfire celebrations on November 5. James I had declared the day a public holiday in his joy at the overthrow of the Gunpowder Plot.

Ever since, Guy Fawkes Day has been a time for merrymaking. It is a holiday that both children and adults can enjoy. And the fun really begins when the darkness falls. Then "the Guy" is tossed onto the bonfire and set alight. After that the fireworks go off, and "the Guy" goes up in flames. Children would often blacken their faces with the ashes on Bonfire night, in imitation of Guy Fawkes who  was believed to have done this also to try to camouflage himself.

It is not certain when "the guys" were first intro­duced, but it did happen during the reign of James I. And it was then that children started to make "the guys" a few days in advance of the event and to parade the streets with them chanting "a penny for the guy". And this still happens today in England. To this day Guy Fawkes is remembered each year on November 5 for his audacious attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

3. The traditions of Guy Fawkes’ Day.

Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated every year on No­vember 5 in the United Kingdom and some other parts of the British Commonwealth. Already early in the morning you can hear merry shouts of children in the streets: "A penny for the Guy! A penny for the Guy!" "The Guy" is a straw dummy dressed in old clothes. Children usually carry their "guys" wear­ing costumes and masks asking for the money in the streets. They collect money to buy fireworks.

In the evening people light huge bonfires where they burn their models of the "guy". That's why this evening is often called Bonfire Night. Big fire­work displays are also organised in public playing fields and open areas. There are feasts with barbeques, roasted potatoes and chestnuts. It is a wonderful occasion to have family and friends round to enjoy either fireworks or maybe just a bonfire songs such as:

"Rumour, rumour, pump and derry,

Prick his hair and burn his body,

And send his soul to Purgatory."

The 5^th of November is a kind of Remembrance Day in Britain. People remember Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot.

3.1. Guy Fawkes’ Night in different cities of Great Britain.

Guy Fawkes must be one of the most popular villains in history, judging by the spectacular manner in which his wicked escapade is celebrated on November 5th each year.

In the last century, many of these celebrations were wild indeed, with home-made fireworks, blazing barrels of tar and huge bonfires in the streets. The windows of shops and houses had to be boarded up, and injuries were a lot.

Fortunately, those days have gone, and regulations have been tightened up.

Lewes, Sussex, is noted for its Guy Fawkes celebra­tions, now a highly organized event attracting thousands of visitors. There are torchlight processions and pageant­ry, with official Bonfire Societies to help with the vari­ous displays. The traditional tar barrel is still a feature, but it now ends its fiery career safely in the river.

There is an extremely well-organized celebration at Winchester, Hampshire. College students and many oth­er organizations in the city prepare elaborate guys, for which prizes are awarded. The guy awarded the first prize has the honour of being the first to be cast upon the huge bonfire, the other prize-winners following in order of merit. Coffee and hot-dogs are in plentiful supply, and a grand time is had by the thousands of onlookers.

The Guy Fawkes Carnival held at Bridgewater, Somerset, on the Thursday nearest to November 5th, is believed to date back un­broken except for the war years, to the original event in 1605. The carnival is noted for the many thousands of "squibs" which are used. For many generations these were made in the homes and lo­cal shops, but for safety reasons these were banned and only fac­tory-made ones are permitted.

3.2. Penny for the Guy.

When November 5th comes, many people feel that they should give their dog a sedative, for some dogs get very nervous when they hear loud bangs, and the evening of Guy Fawkes Day is sure to be noisy if there are chil­dren living in the neighbourhood in England.

November 5th is a day on which traditionally chil­dren are allowed, under proper supervision, to let off fireworks, to make a bonfire and burn on it the figure of a ragged dummy (a "guy") made of old clothes, straw, and if possible one of father's oldest hats. Even the smaller children are allowed to stay up until it is really dark, so that they can admire the rockets that burst in the sky and send down a shower of many-coloured sparks.

In the days before Guy Fawkes Day, some children may be seen going along the streets with their faces black­ened, and wearing some kind of disguise. Sometimes they have a little cart or an old pram, and in it there is a "guy"; they ask the passers-by to spare "a penny for the guy". With the coppers they get they buy fireworks.

4. The celebrations of Bonfire Night nowadays.

Nowadays, although Bonfire Night is not a public holiday, and the religious significance and origins are all but forgotten, everyone knows the story of Guy Fawkes. Children traditionally make a guy, as a reminder of Guy Fawkes.They stuff old clothes with straw or paper and make a face for the guy.The week before Bonfire Night, they take the guy around the neighbourhood and chant Penny for the guy! Neighbours, friends and family give the children a small contribution towards the cost of the celebrations.

On Bonfire Night, families and neighbours get together and make a big bonfire.They place the guy in the centre of the bonfire and watch it burn, as a reminder of the historical event. As the weather is cold in November, it is traditional to eat baked potatoes, soup, and hot dogs while standing around the fire. Baked potatoes are potatoes baked in their skins in the oven, or sometimes around the bonfire.They are served with butter and/or cheese. Hot dogs are sausages in long bread rolls and are often served with ketchup. Children also love to eat freshly dipped toffee apples. Firework displays are organised by adults and professional firework companies. It is illegal for children and young people under eighteen years old to buy fireworks, as they are dangerous and need to be handled with care.The only type of fireworks which children are allowed to handle are sparklers. All schools teach children safety procedures around the time of Bonfire Night, to prevent accidents.

4.1. Do’s and Don’ts on Bonfire Night.

If you carry out the following rules on Bonfire Night, then only the guy will be harmed.

A grown-up person should supervise the bonfire and the lighting of the fireworks. A bucket of water and a bucket of sand should be kept at the ready.

Never pick up a firework that has failed to go off!

Keep the fireworks in a covered tin box and take only a few out at a time.

Keep all pets and animals in a room with the curtains drawn.

Very young children should be kept indoors. Some can be frightened by fireworks and don't share the same excitement that their elder brothers and sisters do.

Do not hold fireworks that tell you not to.

Do not throw "bangers" at each other.

A lot of rules to enjoy yourselves by! But if you follow them, the fire brigades and the hospitals will not be faced with the nasty accidents that usually happen on Novem­ber 5.

5. Guy Fawkes’ Verses.

Bonfire Night is a great opportunity for families to get together, have fun and as the traditional rhyme says, to Remember, remember the fifth of November! As Guy Fawkes’ night is rather popular celebration many poems are devoted to this holiday. They are:

We want a twig, to make it alight,

A hatchet and beetles and wedges.

If you don't give us some,

We'll pull down your hedges.

***

Remember, remember

The fifth of November,

Gunpowder, treason, and plot,

I see no reason

Why gunpowder treason,

Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,

He's intent

To blow up the Houses of Parliament.

Three score barrels of powder below,

Poor old England to overthrow.

By God's providence he was catched,

With a black lantern and a burning match.

Holler, holler, boys,

Ring the bells, ring!

Holler, holler, boys,

God save the King!

***

Guy! Guy! Poke him in the eye!

Put him on the fire top

And there let him die.

6. Summary.

Every year on 5th November, in most parts of Britain, people build a big fire outside, with all the dead leaves and old pieces of wood they do not want. The fire is called a bonfire. They make a dummy (called a 'guy') of Guy Fawkes, from old clothes.

Sometimes children carry the guy around the streets to show people. They say: 'Penny for the guy’, and ask people for money for fireworks. Some people have a bonfire with fireworks in their garden, but fireworks are ex­pensive, so people often get together and have one big party in a park or a field. It is usually very cold in Novem­ber, so they have hot food and drinks to keep warm.

Many children learn these old words about Guy Fawkes' Day:

Remember, remember

The fifth of November,

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

7. References.

1. Bradshow C. This is Britain. Activity Book. Level 2. Oxford University Press, 2005.

2. Inderbitzin-Piskun O. Remember, remember, the 5^th of November… Газета “English” #9, 2004.

3. Mykhailenko T. Guy Fawkes Night. Газета “English” #10, 2003.

4. Bonfire Night. Digest #21, 2004.

5. Bonfire Night. Digest #21, 2001.

6. Guy Fawkes’ Day. Digest #21, 2006.

7. Guy Fawkes Verses. Digest #21, 2008.

8. The Internet Resoures.