Why do we celebrate Bonfire Night?

The main reason why Bonfire Night exists in the UK is because it’s a way to celebrate the failure of Guy Fawkes as he tried to assassinate King James I, while also attempting to blow up the parliament.

This happened in 1605, and people have been celebrating the Bonfire Night ever since.

What happened at that time is that there was a lot of anger against the king, since many considered he was intolerant against the Catholics.

At that time, Robert Catesby and Guy Fawkes were Catholics with the vision that only an armed struggle would reinstate Catholicism to the rightful place.

These two and other supporters came up with a plan to blow up the Palace of Westminster.

The king was in attendance there, so the plan was also to assassinate him during the process.

However, a conspiracy member ended up getting cold feet and he sent a letter to the parliament.

Once they learned about the plan, Fawkes and Catesby as well as the other conspirators ended up being taken into custody here.

The Parliament made a public statement regarding the situation, shared the fact that the conspirators were caught and punished.

Also, the Parliament chose to declare the 5th of November as a day to be thankful for, and hence the tradition to light up bonfires.

Which, eventually, led us to the Bonfire Night. Nowadays Bonfire Night activities are enjoyed throughout the UK in locations like Merseyside.

Despite the fact that its origins are sinister in nature, over the years Bonfire Night has become a community-focused event.

The focus is on having fun, which is why the celebration was rebranded at the beginning of the 20th century by firework manufacturers to Bonfire Night or the Fireworks Night.

As the 20th century progressed, the event looked more and more similar to what we are experiencing today.