Celebrations

November 5th is Guy Fawkes night, the time when people celebrate with fireworks. In Christchurch and Wellington, there are public fireworks displays that people can attend. Many families also buy their own fireworks and light them in their back yards. It’s fun to see sky rockets and throw crackers or hold sparklers. However, every year, the fire department worries about fires and medical people worry about injuries. In the past, people have received burns or eye injuries, sometimes serious, through careless use of fireworks. This is the reason for large public displays, to avoid accidents but also to give people a spectacular show. Stupid behaviour with fireworks is also the reason the government has banned the sale of fireworks before November 1st and restricted the sale to people over the age of 18.
 
The reason we celebrate Guy Fawkes is hard to understand. The occasion, November 5th 1605, 400 years ago, had nothing to do with New Zealand. It was the date for the opening of the English Parliament for the year. Guy Fawkes was a Catholic who wanted to blow up Parliament and kill James 1st. However, he was discovered the day before, in the cellar of the Houses of Parliament with 20 barrels of gunpowder, enough to kill the king and members of the House of Commons as well as the House of Lords. He and his mates were executed.
 
Since then, November 5th has been celebrated in England as a day of thanksgiving. It is a reminder to be thankful for democracy and freedom of religious belief. People build bonfires, children make a ‘guy’ out of straw and old clothes and burn him on the bonfire. The fireworks are a symbol of the explosion that Guy Fawkes planned.