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n– U.K.
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nAKAnBonfire Night!
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nThisnholiday is all about vanquishing a terrorist plot—more than 400nyears ago!
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nInnthe so-called the Gunpowder Plot, some English terrorists were tryingnto assassinate (murder) the English king, King James I of Englandn(also known as King VI of Scotland). The plotters decided to blow upnthe House of Lords during its opening ceremony on this day in 1605.nSo they bought a whole bunch of gunpowder—to be exact, 36 barrelsnof it!—and they stored it beneath the House of Lords. That wasnenough explosives to bring the House of Lords down to rubble! I guessnmore than one guy would have been murdered, if they’d succeeded.
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nLuckily,nthey didn’t succeed. Instead, an anonymous tip warned the one guy in the House of Lords, and that guy warned the rest of the government; a search was made and the explosives discovered.
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nThatnnight, the people of England celebrated the fact that their kingnWASN’T assassinated by lighting bonfires. There is a long andncolorful (yet upsetting) history of how the celebrations continuednand changed, over the years, but these days Guy Fawkes Day (really,nnight) is celebrated in non-violent ways with bonfires and fireworksnshows.
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nBut…younmay ask why it’s called “Guy Fawkes Day.” Who was this Guy Fawkesnguy? Was he the sheriff who foiled the plot? The tipster thatnprevented the tragedy? An average soldier who acted bravely to savenhis king?
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| Fawkes being arrested |
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nNo.nGuy Fawkes was the guy the plotters had stand watch over thenexplo-sives. He was one of the would-be killers, and he and thenother plotters were arrested and executed in a gruesome manner.
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| An effigy of Fawkes |
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nBacknin 1605, as people celebrated with their bonfires, some of themnburned Guy Fawkes “in effigy” in the bonfires. That means thatnthey created a 3-D human form out of burnable stuff, like cloth. nThey called the form “Guy Fawkes” and threw it into the fire andncheered as the inanimate doll-like form burned up. (It is a bitnbloodthirsty to burn an effigy, don’t you think?) It was the use ofnthese Guy Fawkes forms that gave the holiday its name.
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nHerenis a short video that retells what Guy Fawkes Day is all about andnhow it is celebrated – in just a couple of minutes.