Bonfire Night

On the Fifth of November, British people celebrate Bonfire Night on the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot. A scarecrow in the likeness of Guy Fawkes is put in the center of a large pile of wood, before lighting it on fire. There is also a huge fireworks display, eating, drinking, and partying.

The reason why the conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot were trying to blow up Parliament was in an attempt to end the persecution of Recusant Catholics.  Before the scarecrow was made in the likeness of Guy Fawkes, they were burning an effigy of the Pope. In the town of Lewes in Sussex, they will have a parade where they burn crosses on the Fifth of November.