On 5th November every year, children in
Britain get excited because it is Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes' Night). They lit
bonfires and enjoy fireworks displays. On top of the fire there is a guy (a homemade model of a man, like a scarecrow).
They do
these things because they're remembering when the King of England, James l, and
the Houses of Parliament were nearly blown up with gunpowder
Guy Fawkes Night, also known asGuy Fawkes Day,Bonfire
Night andFirework Night, is
an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain.Its history begins with the events of
5 November 1605, whenGuy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the
plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. Celebrating the fact that King James Ihad
survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London.
Halloween is celebrated on
October 31st every year. The holiday began as a Celtic festival from Ireland
called Samhain. Halloween is traditionally a holiday
that is meant to ward off evil spirits. During the time of the Celtic
traditions, people would carve out scary faces and figures in giant turnips,
place a candle inside, and set in their windows to scare away evil ghosts and
enemies on Halloween.
Click here if you want to learn more about the origin and meaning of the different activities related to Halloween! And here you’ll find ideas for customes, crafts, recipes and games!
How do they celebrate it in the different
countries?Ask your class mates born in other countries.
What about in the United States? Ask Jennifer, our
language assistant.