Bonfire Night is a name given to various yearly events marked by bonfires and fireworks. [1] These include Guy Fawkes Night (5 November) in Great Britain; All Hallows' Eve (31 October); May Eve (30 April); [2] Midsummer Eve/Saint John's Eve (23 June); [3] the Eleventh Night (11 July) among Northern Ireland Protestants; and the Feast of the Assumption (15 August) among Northern Ireland Catholics. [4]
In Great Britain, Bonfire Night is associated with the tradition of celebrating the failure of Guy Fawkes' actions on 5 November 1605. [5] The British festival is, therefore, on 5 November, although some commercially driven events are held at a weekend near to the correct date, to maximise attendance. Bonfire night's sectarian significance has generally been lost: it is now usually just a night of revelry with a bonfire and fireworks, although an effigy of Guy Fawkes is burned on the fire. Celebrations are held throughout Great Britain; in some non-Catholic communities in Northern Ireland; [6] and in some other parts of the Commonwealth. In many areas of the UK, celebrations also feature funfairs, family entertainment, and special food and drinks. [7] In the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, 5 November is commemorated with bonfires and firework displays, [8] and it is officially celebrated in South Africa. [9]
In Northern Ireland, the term "Bonfire Night" can refer to the Eleventh Night celebrations of 11 July. Like 5 November, this Bonfire Night also has its roots in the sectarian struggle between Protestants and Catholics. Unlike 5 November the sectarian significance of 11 July is still strong. It celebrates the Battle of the Boyne of 1690, in which the Protestant William of Orange defeated the Catholic James II. [10]
In the city of Cork [3] and many rural parts of the Republic of Ireland "Bonfire Night" refers to 23 June, Saint John's Eve night. It has its origins in a religious celebration and originally featured prayers for bountiful crops. The night is linked to the summer solstice or Midsummer's Eve. Originally fires were lit to honour the goddess Áine as part of a Celtic celebration; the Catholic Church took over the pagan festival and linked it to the birth of St John. [11] [12] In the city of Limerick, "Bonfire Night" is held on May Eve, 30 April, on the eve of the Celtic festival of Bealtaine. [2]
Bonfire celebrations can pose a risk to public safety due to the possibility of fires, injuries, or fights. For example, in London, calls to firefighting services are nearly tripled on Bonfire Night. [13] In Belfast, the July 2003 Eleventh Night resulted in £10,000 worth of damage to a park. [10] The use of fireworks may lead to dangerous pyrotechnic incidents. In parts of the Caribbean, laws banning fireworks and explosives have muted the occasion, [14] and safety concerns in New Zealand have resulted in restrictions on fireworks use, although public firework displays remain popular there. [15]
The tradition of Bonfire Night has been criticised for its environmental impact. A 1994 study conducted in Oxford, England, found a four-fold increase in dioxin and furan concentration in the air after a Bonfire Night celebration. [16] In 2005 a Bonfire Night in Newfoundland prompted the provincial Minister of Environment and Conservation to remind the general public of their responsibilities for safety and the environment. [17]
There are many food items that are associated with Bonfire Night. Toffee apples, treacle toffee, black peas and parkin, and even the jacket potato, are traditionally eaten around Bonfire Night in parts of England. [18] [19] [20] Also, some families eat soups to warm up on a cold night and toast marshmallows over the fire. [21]
Guy Fawkes, also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born and educated in York; his father died when Fawkes was eight years old, after which his mother married a recusant Catholic.
Halloween, or Hallowe'en, is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It is at the beginning of the observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. In popular culture, the day has become a celebration of horror and is associated with the macabre and the supernatural.
Fireworks are low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays, combining a large number of devices in an outdoor setting. Such displays are the focal point of many cultural and religious celebrations, though mismanagement could lead to fireworks accidents.
The Battle of the Boyne took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II, had acceded to the Crowns of England and Scotland in 1689. The battle was fought across the River Boyne close to the town of Drogheda in the Kingdom of Ireland, modern-day Republic of Ireland, and resulted in a victory for William. This turned the tide in James's failed attempt to regain the British crown and ultimately aided in ensuring the continued Protestant ascendancy in Ireland.
A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration.
Saint John's Eve, starting at sunset on 23 June, is the eve of the feast day of Saint John the Baptist. This is one of the very few feast days marking a saint's birth, rather than their death. The Gospel of Luke states that John was born six months before Jesus; therefore, the feast of John the Baptist was fixed on 24 June, six months before Christmas. In the Roman calendar, 24 June was the date of the summer solstice, and Saint John's Eve is closely associated with Midsummer festivities in Europe. Traditions are similar to those of May Day and include bonfires, feasting, processions, church services, and gathering wild plants.
Bonfire Night is a traditional celebration involving bonfires in several countries.
A sparkler is a type of hand-held firework that burns slowly while emitting bright, colored sparks. It burns in high temperature, so it can be very dangerous.
Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain, involving bonfires and fireworks displays. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605 O.S., when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. The Catholic plotters had intended to assassinate Protestant king James I and his parliament. Celebrating that the king had survived, people lit bonfires around London. Months later, the Observance of 5th November Act mandated an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure.
Candy apples are whole apples covered in a sugar candy coating, with a stick inserted as a handle. These are a common treat at fall festivals in Western culture in the Northern Hemisphere, such as Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night because these festivals occur in the wake of annual apple harvests. Although candy apples and caramel apples may seem similar, they are made using distinctly different processes.
The Sussex Bonfire Societies are responsible for the series of bonfire festivals concentrated on central and eastern Sussex, with further festivals in parts of Surrey and Kent from September to November each year.
Fireworks in England, Scotland and Wales are governed primarily by the Fireworks Regulations 2004, the Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015, and British Standards BS 7114 until 4/7/17 and BS-EN 15947-2015. In Northern Ireland, fireworks are governed by The Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015, and Explosives (Fireworks) Regulations (NI) 2002.
The Twelfth is a primarily Ulster Protestant celebration held on 12 July. It began in the late 18th century in Ulster. It celebrates the Glorious Revolution (1688) and victory of Protestant King William of Orange over Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne (1690), which ensured a Whig political party and Anglican Ascendancy in Ireland and the passing of the Penal Laws to disenfranchise and persecute the nation's Catholic majority, and to a lesser extent Protestant Dissenters, until Catholic Emancipation in 1829.
Bonfire toffee is a hard, brittle toffee associated with Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night in the United Kingdom. The toffee tastes very strongly of black treacle (molasses), and cheap versions can be quite bitter. In Scotland, the treat is known as claggum, with less sweet versions known as clack. In Wales, it is known as loshin du.
Parkin is a gingerbread cake traditionally made with oatmeal and black treacle, which originated in Northern England. Often associated with Yorkshire, it is widespread and popular elsewhere, notably in Lancashire. Parkin is baked to a hard cake but with resting becomes moist and even sometimes sticky. There are regional differences; for example, in Hull and East Yorkshire, it has a drier, more biscuit-like texture than in other areas, whereas in Lancashire it is generally made with golden syrup rather than with the treacle used elsewhere. Parkin is traditionally eaten on Guy Fawkes Night, 5 November, and when celebrating "Yorkshire Day" on 1 August, and it is also enjoyed throughout the winter months. It is baked commercially throughout Yorkshire but is mainly a domestic product in other areas.
The West Country Carnival Circuits are an annual celebration featuring a parade of illuminated carts in the English West Country. The celebration dates back to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The purpose is to raise money for local charities.
Consumer fireworks are fireworks sold for use by the general public. They are generally weaker in explosive power than the fireworks used in professional displays.
Lewes Bonfire, or Bonfire for short, describes a set of celebrations held in the town of Lewes in Sussex, England, that constitute the United Kingdom's largest and most famous Bonfire Night festivities, with Lewes being called the bonfire capital of the world.
In Northern Ireland, the Eleventh Night or 11th Night, also known as "bonfire night", is the night before the Twelfth of July, an Ulster Protestant celebration. On this night, towering bonfires are lit in Protestant loyalist neighbourhoods, and are often accompanied by street parties and loyalist marching bands. The bonfires are mostly made of wooden pallets and locally collected wood. They originally celebrated the Williamite conquest of the 1690s, which began the Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland and has been maintained by the Protestant community. Eleventh Night events are often condemned for sectarianism or ethnic hatred against Irish Catholics, Irish nationalists, and Irish people broadly, such as the burning of Irish tricolours, and for damage and pollution caused. Some are controlled by loyalist paramilitaries, and authorities may be wary of taking action against controversial bonfires. In 2021, there were about 250 Eleventh Night bonfires.
Sparks in the Park is an annual fireworks display held in Cardiff, Wales on or around Guy Fawkes Night.
Guy Fawkes' Nights – which are, after all, more commonly just called Bonfire or Firework Nights)