Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes!

Elle408
Elle408 Posts: 500 Member
in Chit-Chat
So what are you doing this year? It's quite possibly my favourite holiday, fireworks and yummy treats and big ol' bonfires!

This year I'm going to Ottery St Mary (Devon) for their tar barrels tradition! They close the whole town and local people carry lit tar barrels through the town, such a crazy tradition, and a little dangerous! lol

flaming-tar-barrel.jpg

Replies

  • Dr_Quest
    Dr_Quest Posts: 24
    Only in the U.K. would they have a holiday to celebrate a failure.
  • paul_draper
    paul_draper Posts: 91 Member
    Au contraire. It celebrates the discovery of the plot and the preservation of the King.
  • Cyndi1
    Cyndi1 Posts: 484 Member
    Only in the U.K. would they have a holiday to celebrate a failure.

    Actually they do it in Canada too....In Newfoundland when I was kid right up until left highschool it was big... now I will have to ask if it still happens...lol
  • Dr_Quest
    Dr_Quest Posts: 24
    Au contraire. It celebrates the discovery of the plot and the preservation of the King.
    I prefer anarchy.
  • LosinItAll2012
    LosinItAll2012 Posts: 238 Member
    Only in the U.K. would they have a holiday to celebrate a failure.

    Actually they do it in Canada too....In Newfoundland when I was kid right up until left highschool it was big... now I will have to ask if it still happens...lol


    I'm in Newfoundland...and yep! Having a Big ol' Bonfire in my backyard tonight!!!
  • shvrngrl
    shvrngrl Posts: 205 Member
    Yay Bonfire Night!!! I love it too, however, we live in America making it hard to celebrate. We have a nice dinner but cannot do fireworks due to the fire laws. BOO-HOO!!!!!
  • protosaurus
    protosaurus Posts: 16 Member
    Going to a local bonfire with fireworks, and going to make a hot smokey sausage roast before it to celebrate.
  • Cyndi1
    Cyndi1 Posts: 484 Member
    Only in the U.K. would they have a holiday to celebrate a failure.

    Actually they do it in Canada too....In Newfoundland when I was kid right up until left highschool it was big... now I will have to ask if it still happens...lol


    I'm in Newfoundland...and yep! Having a Big ol' Bonfire in my backyard tonight!!!
    right on..enjoy and be safe. : )
  • KerrySayers27
    KerrySayers27 Posts: 36 Member
    I will be sat at home comforting my terrified dog and cats once again for the fifth night in a row. It's bad enough having to have them terrified for one night but I just hate how it goes on for several nights. :(
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I will be sat at home comforting my terrified dog and cats once again for the fifth night in a row. It's bad enough having to have them terrified for one night but I just hate how it goes on for several nights. :(

    That's like the Fourth of July around here. My pets didn't seem bothered by it, but we had neighbors setting off rockets until 3 a.m. several nights in a row and they did it for a good two weeks. We had to call the police finally.
  • sarahcuddle
    sarahcuddle Posts: 349 Member
    I love Bonfire night but we always go to an organised bonfire and fireworks display. We went to one on Saturday night as it's a better night for my kids to be up late than tonight when they have school in the morning. Speaking as an English person I would rather celebrate our tradition than Halloween, a US import.
  • Dovekat
    Dovekat Posts: 263 Member
    I am not a huge fan on Guy Fawkes myself, we have a lot of idiots in this area who have no concept of safety when letting fireworks off in their yards (one of them set fire to their hedge and almost hit our back door with a badly aimed rocket last year). Everyone says keep you're animals in for November the 5th but in reality you get weeks of ppl letting stuff off anywhere they can at any time at all. If it were mainly kept to displays I think it would be a lot safer.
  • Elle408
    Elle408 Posts: 500 Member
    I missed all of the weekend bonfires and displays due to other commitments, so I'm glad I still get to see something tonight! I think it's the whole thing of getting wrapped in layers, eating toffee apples and treacle and cinder toffee and having sparklers, whilst huddling around a bonfire with your friends to keep warm and then watching some pretty decent fireworks! Such good fun!

    I used to go to Alton Towers for their display every year as it is amazing, but I live too far away now so will enjoy the more local tradition of tar barrels! lol The village is really quaint and I think that adds to the atmosphere!
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,611 Member
    I used to love Guy Fawkes celebrations when I lived in the UK. In hindsight it is definitely a more pagan like holiday which a party going on around the burning effigy of a slain enemy.


    Also, to those who think Guy Fawkes stood for freedom from oppression, he was a religious terrorist who wanted to assassinate the king so that a Catholic king could ascend to the throne. This would then bring England back into the Vatican fold and take away another safe harbor for the Protestant heretics.
  • ehs5mw
    ehs5mw Posts: 65
    Maybe I will watch V for Vendetta tonight.
  • SkyPixie
    SkyPixie Posts: 224
    Lewes .. its the only place to be on bonfire night !!!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewes_Bonfire
  • _Bob_
    _Bob_ Posts: 1,487 Member
    Bonfire night sounds awesome, who cares why it started.

    I celebrate Friday nights even if nothing amazing happened on that friday
  • paul_draper
    paul_draper Posts: 91 Member
    we have four cats who are quite indifferent to it but then we have had weeks of Eid, Diwali and Halloween. Yes, people celebrate Halloween with fireworks in my part of London.

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