Today we're celebrating 407 years of not successfully blowing up the Houses of Parliament in 1605! You didn't know? Oh well, I guess you don't live in Great Britain then. I'm not going to go into the full story (if you're interested you can click the link to
Wikipedia), but suffice to say that millions of people all over Great Britain are today building bonfires, setting alight effigies of Guy Fawkes and letting off millions of fireworks. It's an explosive day and something I miss from my youth growing up in England. The USA has Independence Day and even New Year's Eve where fireworks are lit, but there's something special about huddling around a bonfire, eating burgers, waving a sparkler and watching rockets shoot up into the sky.
It's good to give thanks just for being alive and being able to live the lives we do. Sometimes whole countries' fortunes and directions rely on small events. Who knows what the state of the USA would have been if Guy Fawkes had been successful and blown up the Houses of Parliament? It would make an interesting topic for a movie. Perhaps England would today be a Catholic country; and even the USA. Hmm... Sounds like a post for another day.
So, if you are celebrating Firework Night today - stay safe and '
Remember, remember, the fifth of November. Gunfire, treason and plot.'
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Catholic countries? With a Catholic work ethic? The world would be a different place!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you though, Paul. Tonight is one great bonfire display in the centre of Cambridge, UK which I really miss!
That sounds like a fun tradition, though being an American girl, I have never heard of it. I get a kick out of funny traditions. Is there anything more absurd than celebrating a holiday where people dressed in old timey clothes yank an groundhog out of his hole in February to test whether or not he can see his shadow?
ReplyDeleteI liked this post. It is good to remember how lucky some of us are, who live in free nations.