Remember, Remember The Fifth Of November
LONDON, England It's the British day of fireworks but it's not about independence. It's about an explosion on November 5th, 1605, still felt today across the British Empire.
There are enough fireworks to make you think it was the Fourth of July. But where Americans celebrate the day of independence, the Brits mark a revolution that never was.
Four hundred years ago to the day, an angry Catholic man named Guy Fawkes hatched a plot to kill the Protestant King, his family, and pretty much the entire government...by blowing up the houses of Parliament with 60 barrels of gunpowder, in one spectacular blast.
Fawkes came very close to pulling it off, until a leaked letter led guards to Fawkes moments before he lit the fuse.
Officials took Guy Fawkes to the Tower of London, stretched him out on a rack, and they tortured him for days until he finally gave up the names of his co-conspirators, and that's when it got even worse.
“He was hung drawn and quartered. This is a fairly symbolic act of execution,” said Gunpower Plot curator Brett Dolman.
Officials made Fawkes’ torture dramatic so no one would ever forget. Ever since, they've marked the anniversary of the foiled Gunpowder Plot with bonfires and fireworks.
There's even a rhyme they learn in school.
“Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder, treason, should ever be forgot,” recites Annie Barker, a young student.
Every November 5th, the British celebrate the revolution that might have been with fireworks and bonfires, all for Guy Fawkes.
If Guy Fawkes was just a bit closer to lighting that fuse, who knows what might have transpired in the British Empire in the last 400 years. So always remember the 5th of November.
(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
There are enough fireworks to make you think it was the Fourth of July. But where Americans celebrate the day of independence, the Brits mark a revolution that never was.
Four hundred years ago to the day, an angry Catholic man named Guy Fawkes hatched a plot to kill the Protestant King, his family, and pretty much the entire government...by blowing up the houses of Parliament with 60 barrels of gunpowder, in one spectacular blast.
Fawkes came very close to pulling it off, until a leaked letter led guards to Fawkes moments before he lit the fuse.
Officials took Guy Fawkes to the Tower of London, stretched him out on a rack, and they tortured him for days until he finally gave up the names of his co-conspirators, and that's when it got even worse.
“He was hung drawn and quartered. This is a fairly symbolic act of execution,” said Gunpower Plot curator Brett Dolman.
Officials made Fawkes’ torture dramatic so no one would ever forget. Ever since, they've marked the anniversary of the foiled Gunpowder Plot with bonfires and fireworks.
There's even a rhyme they learn in school.
“Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder, treason, should ever be forgot,” recites Annie Barker, a young student.
Every November 5th, the British celebrate the revolution that might have been with fireworks and bonfires, all for Guy Fawkes.
If Guy Fawkes was just a bit closer to lighting that fuse, who knows what might have transpired in the British Empire in the last 400 years. So always remember the 5th of November.
(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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Source: kutv.com