The History of Bonfire Night

I Lead-in.

1)    What associations do you have with the word ‘fireworks’? Take a minute to write down the words you associate with ‘fireworks’, compare your ideas with other students.

2)    In the UK there is a celebration called Fireworks Night. What in your opinion does it celebrate or help people to remember? 

 

 II Vocabulary focus. Study the words and their definitions.

 

annual- happening once very year

to blow up – to destroy by explosion using something like a bomb

plot – a secret plan made by several people to do something  wrong or harmful

barrel – a  large container, made of wood, metal, or plastic, with a flat top and bottom and curved sides

gunpowder – explosive mixture of substances used in bombs and fireworks

to fail – to not succeed

to betray – to do something that does not support the group or country you belong to and harm people who believed you

to warn – to tell somebody that  bad or  dangerous things will happen in the future

to torture – to physically hurt someone to make them give the information

to confess – to tell the truth about something wrong or illegal you have done

to try – to examine a legal case in a court

to convict – to prove or officially announce that someone is guilty of a crime

to hang – to kill someone by dropping them with a rope around their neck

bonfire – a large outdoor fire

effigy – a model that represents a hated person

 

 III Watch the video and choose the correct words to complete the sentences. 

1. Fireworks Night is known as Guy Fawkes Night and ______.

A.   Happy Fire

B.   Guy Fawkes Firearms

C.    Bonfire Night

2. Bonfire Night is an annual celebration on the _______.

A.     5th of November

B.    15th of September

C.    5th of December

3. Guy Fawkes Night is mainly celebrated in ____.

A.   Australia

B.    New Zealand

C.    the United Kingdom

4. Its history begins with the events of the 5th of November _____.

A.   1605  

B.    1555

C.    1505

5. A group of Catholic conspirators had planned to blow up the ______ during the state opening.

A.   Buckingham palace

B.    Houses of Parliament

C.   Tower Bridge

6. The conspirators intended to kill the ____ James I.

A.   Prime Minister

B.   Pope

C.   King

7. Their plan was called the ____. 

A.   Gunpowder Plot

B.    Guy Fawkes plot

C.    Bonfire plot

8. The conspirators wanted England to be ____ again, which they thought they could do if they killed the king and his ministers and replaced them with a Catholic head of state.

A.   independent

B.   Catholic

C.   rich

9. Guy Fawkes guarded the ______ that the plotters had stockpiled under the House of Lords.

A.   wood and dried grass

B.   gunpowder and fireworks

C.    barrels of gunpowder

10. The conspirators were betrayed: _______, who worked in parliament, warning him to stay away on the 5th of November.

A.   one member of the group had sent a secret letter to his friend

B.   one member of the group had informed his wife

C.   Guy Fawkes had informed his son

 

IV Watch the video and fill in the gaps with the words from the list. There are some words you don’t need to use.

 

bonfires; English; book; explosives; convicted; killed; celebration; religious; popular; poems; writer; confessed

 

 The letter found its way to the King and an immediate search was ordered and they found Fawkes guarding the 1) ______. He was questioned and tortured over the next few days and 2) ______ to wanting to blow up the Houses of Parliament. The other conspirators were all either 3) ______ resisting capture or, like Fawkes, tried, 4) ______, and then hung, drawn and quartered.

 Following the foiled plan Parliament declared November 5th and   national day of thanksgiving and the first 5) ______ of it took place in 1606. People lit 6) ______ around London and months later the introduction of the observance of 5th of November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot’s failure. Within a few decades Gunpowder Treason Day as it became known became the prominent 7) ______ commemoration day but as it carried strong Protestant 8) ______ overtones it also came as a focus for anti-Catholic sentiment. Celebrations became increasingly raucous, and people would burn effigies of 9) ______ hate figures of the time such as the Pope.  There were songs and 10) ______ associated with the evening as far back as the late 17th century, which we still sing and recite today.

 

 V Watch the video and put the sentences from the popular Guy Fawkes Night poem in the correct order. 

For example: 1-f

           a)    Poor old England to overthrow

b)    With a dark lantern and burning match

c)    Three score barrels of powder below

d)    To blow up the King and the Parliament

e)    Holler boys, holler boys, God save the King!

f)     Remember, remember, the Fifth of November

g)    By God’s providence he was catch’d

h)    I see no reason why gunpowder treason

i)      Gunpowder treason and plot

j)     Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, ‘twas his intent

k)    Holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring

l)      Should ever be forgot

VI Watch the video and choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

It’s noted that in the 18th century people began to create Guy Fawkes himself as one of the  English/effigies/edge to burn on the bonfire, and it became known as ‘a guy’. By the end of the 18th century children/childish/child would parade their guys around the streets in the days leading up to Guy Fawkes Day and ask passers-by for ‘a pound/found/penny for the guy’. The fifth of November gradually became known as Guy Fawkes Day. In the 1850s changing attitudes resulted in the toning down of much of the day’s anti-government/anti-Catholic/anti-Christmas feelings. And the observance of the 5th of November act was overturned in 1859. Eventually any bad feelings were dealt with, and by the 20th century Guy Fawkes Day had become an enjoyable facial/social/racial commemoration. The present day Guy Fawkes Night is usually celebrated at large organized events centred on a bonfire and extravagant firewood/firework/workers displays.

 

 VII Comprehension check. Mark the sentences as True (T) or False (F). Correct the false statements.

 1.    Guy Fawkes Night is also known as Fireworks Night and Bonfire Night.

2.    Guy Fawkes Night is celebrated every four years.

3.    On 5th of November 1605 a group of conspirators had planned to burn the statue of the King near the Houses of Parliament during the celebration.  

4.    A group of conspirators planned to kill the King James I and members of the Parliament in a plan called the Guy Fawkes Plot.  

5.    The plotters wanted England to be Catholic again.  

6.    The conspirators were betrayed, the conspirators including Guy Fawkes were either killed or tried, convicted, and then hung, drawn and quartered.  

7.    Later people lit bonfires around London to celebrate the plot’s failure.   

8.    There were Gunpowder Treason Day songs and poems associated with the evening which people still sing and recite today.  

9.    In the 18th century people began to create Guy Fawkes himself as one of the effigies to burn on the bonfire, and it became known as ‘a bonfire’.  

10.In the 18th century children paraded their guys around the streets before Guy Fawkes Day and asked passers-by for ‘a penny for the guy’.  

11.  In the 20th century Guy Fawkes Day had become a religious holiday.  

12.The present day Guy Fawkes Night is usually celebrated at large organized events  with a bonfire and fireworks.  

 VIII  OVER TO YOU.

A)  Which facts about Guy Fawkes Night described in the video surprised you the most?

B)     Which beliefs and traditions are similar to the traditions in your country (even if you don’t have a holiday like Guy Fawkes Night)?