Why we won’t be celebrating Guy Fawkes Bonfire night in Spain
“Who is Guy Fawkes?” my daughter asked me this morning while we were getting ready for school. And it occurred to me that unlike Halloween, the British tradition of burning an effigy of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire every 5th November wouldn’t be one adopted here in Spain.
Why? Well Guy or Guido Fawkes was born in 1570 in York to a family with strong Catholic ties at a time when Britain was a Protestant country and Catholics were being persecuted.
Guy Fawkes was 18 when the Catholic Spanish Armada attempted to invade Britain and as it had been supported by the Pope, the persecution of Catholics became more severe. Catholic Priests were forced to say Mass in private houses and Catholics had to attend Protestant services.
When Guy Fawkes was 21 he went to Europe and fought for Catholic Spain against the Protestant Dutch and even travelled to Spain to ask King Phillip III for support for a Catholic rebellion (which was rejected).
By 1605 discontent had grown to the extent that some Catholics were willing to take extreme measures. Guy Fawkes was involved in one such measure – the plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament at the opening of Parliament on November 5th, when King James I and leading politicians would be present. The intention was that with the King dead they would be able to restore a Catholic Monarch to the throne.
Unfortunately for Guy Fawkes, he was caught red handed in the cellars of the House of Lords with matches and a fuse next to 36 barrels of gunpowder. He was questioned and tortured until he confessed to the plot and immediately before his execution he jumped from the scaffold and broke his neck.
Four centuries later and people in England still commemorate this failure to blow up the Houses of Parliament by burning an effigy of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire followed by a firework display giving the effect of what blowing up the Houses of Parliament would possibly be like. It is also a reminder to all not be traitors…
“Remember, remember the 5th of November, Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder and treason should ever be forgot.”
I have fond memories of wrapping up warmly and going to bonfire nights with friends and standing around the bonfire, writing my name with the sparklers and drinking hot tomato soup. I vaguely remember one year making our own Guy Fawkes and walking him around our neighbourhood in a wheelbarrow “collecting for the Guy”. I also remember the excitement of watching the fireworks, the oooohs and the aaahhhhhs and loving the loud bangs.
So are my kids missing out on this….. well in a sense yes but they gain in so many other ways. And we celebrate a similar type of bonfire night here in Manilva every 23rd June which is just as if not more spectacular – El Noche de San Juan. I will blog about this some other time but if you are thinking about booking a holiday in June, make sure you are here for the evening of the 23rd as it is an amazing evening for all the family.