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Guy Fawkes Night ――5th November
Guy Fawkes Night--5th November, is s till observed in England――but fifty years ago it was celebrated with much more enthusiasm than is common today.It is different from other festivals in several ways. Although it occurs in the Autumn, it is not a seasonal festival：it is a political one. It started as an assertion1) of religious and patriotic2) loyalty.
All children know the rhyme3) associated with ５th November――and years ago, they would parade the streets, chanting it. These are the words：
Please remember the Fifth of November
Gunpowder, Treason, and Plot4)
I see no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot!
The rhyme reminded everyone of the origins of the festival. In the year １６０５, an attempt was made to blow up the Houses of Parliament5). The King at this time was James I. The plotters, who were Roman Catholics, hoped that he would be one of many casualties6). Great barrels of gunpowder were placed in the cellars underneath the building and one of the plotters then was found, crouched in the darkness, ready to light the fuses. It was an act of terrorism. It never had any chance of success. The discovery of Guy Fawkes was not an accident. News of the plot had been leaked. Once the conspiracy had been uncovered, and the plotters put to death, Parliament decreed that bonfires should be lit every year, to celebration event that was seen as a marvellous deliverance.
As the darkness falls earlier and weather gets worse-everyone is cheered by a bonfire. However, building a fire that will blaze satisfactorily can’t be done quickly or easily. For weeks before, broken furniture, wood waste-anything not wanted that would burn, was added to a growing（and very untidy）heap. Most householders were very glad to get rid of their rubbish. The top of the pile was flattened ready for an effigy of Guy Fawkes.
These effigies7) were the work of children-usually with some adult help. They had first to get hold of an outworn, unwanted jacket and trousers. The wrists and ankles were tightly tied, and the buttons fastened, and then the whole was stuffed with straw so as to make the shape of a man. The trouser ends were stuck in an old pair of boots, and the wrists into gloves. Making the head was the hardest part. You got a strong paper bag of the right size, stuffed it with straw, put a strong stick in the neck, and found an old hat for it to wear. Then you pushed the end of the stick well down into the body, and on the front of the head, you tied a mask. Suitable masks could be bought in the shops for a penny or two. That completed your effigy of Guy Fawkes. He was ugly, shabby and grotesque8)――but then he was meant to be.Before he was shoved on the bonfire, he was put into something which had wheels-an old child’s perambulator or a wheelbarrow, and t he rhyme was chanted and the children begged for pennies as a reward for their hard work.
In the early darkness and in chilly, and often foggy November weather, often with a threat of rain of frost, the bonfire burned, and its straw-filled Guy, and the fireworks added colour and explosive noise to the scene. There was food too if the children were lucky――roasted potato and toffee apple with a crisp and sweet coating. All this――as you can imagine, gave children fun and excitement.
□by Anna Whitington
