Guy Fawkes Day 2026: Who was Guy Fawkes? Here's why November 5 is observed as Bonfire Night

Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated in the UK on November 5. The day is held to commemorate the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Guy Fawkes was caught with the barrels of gunpowder underneath the Parliament building. He was a part of the group looking to blow up the Houses of Parliament. He became the most well-known person connected to the failed plot. This event changed the course of English history. The day is celebrated with fireworks, bonfires and traditional festivities over 400 years later.

Who was Guy Fawkes, and What was the Gunpowder Plot?

Guy Fawkes was an English soldier and part of a group of provincial Roman Catholics led by Robert Catesby. They did not like King James I and the treatment of Catholics under Protestant rule.


They wanted to create a Catholic government in England. They tried to assassinate the King and other government leaders by blowing up the Houses of Parliament on November 5, 1605.

The group placed 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar under the House of Lords in the Palace of Westminster. Fawkes was put in charge of guarding the explosives as he had experience in the military and knowledge of explosives.

How was the Gunpowder Plot discovered?

An anonymous letter was sent to the authorities to inform about the plot. The guards searched the cellars underneath Parliament on the intervening night between November 4 and 5, 1605. They found Guy Fawkes with the gunpowder and fuse. He was arrested just hours before the Gunpowder Plot was to take place.

The rest of the conspirators were either killed while fighting back or arrested. Those who went to trial were found guilty of high treason. Fawkes was tortured in the Tower of London. He was executed in January 1606.

Why is November 5 called as Bonfire Night?

People in London celebrate the victory of the government forces by lighting bonfires. Parliament passed an act in January 1606 to make November 5 an annual day of thanksgiving. The first official celebration was carried out in 1606. It is also known as Guy Fawkes Night.

How is Guy Fawkes Day celebrated nowadays?

It is celebrated throughout the UK and some ex-British Empire countries.

Traditions are:

• Bonfires – Communities gather around large bonfires.
• Fireworks – Firework displays to represent the explosives.
• Guy Effigies – Straw and cloth figures of Guy Fawkes are burnt on the bonfires.
• Traditional rhymes – People recite the famous lines “Remember, remember the 5th of November, gunpowder treason and plot”.

Some communities organise public events, parades and food. The children traditionally walk around with effigies known as Guys and ask for "a penny for the Guy".