“Remember Remember the 5th of November” says Donaldson
Kenny Donaldson, Ulster Unionist Party Officer responsible for Youth Development has called upon the Northern Ireland public to join with fellow United Kingdom partners in remembering Guy Fawkes Day, the 5th of November.
Guy Fawkes Night (traditionally known as Bonfire Night) is an annual celebration (but not a public holiday) on the evening of the 5th of November primarily in the United Kingdom, but also in former British colonies New Zealand, the island of Newfoundland (Canada), Vancouver Island, Canada, parts of the British Caribbean including the Bahamas, and to some extent by their nationals abroad.
It celebrates the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot in which a group of Catholic conspirators, led by one Robert Catesby, and including Guy Fawkes, attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in Westminster on the evening of 5 November 1605, when the Protestant James I of England (James VI of Scotland), his eldest sons, and the majority of the English Parliament were within its walls. The conspirators were later tortured and executed.
The celebrations, which in the United Kingdom take place in towns and villages across the country, involve fireworks displays and the building of bonfires, on which “guys”, or dummies, representing Guy Fawkes, the most infamous of the conspirators, are traditionally burnt. Before the fifth, children traditionally use the “guys” to beg for money with the chant “Penny for the guy”. In recent years the night is becoming increasingly known as “Guy Fawkes Night”.
In a statement Kenny said: “Protestants, Roman Catholics and those of a secular disposition will have a different interpretation of the events and circumstances, which led to Guy Fawkes (an English Catholic) and others being burnt at the stake.
“However it is undisputed that this particular period in history has commonality and importance across all these strands.
“In other areas of the United Kingdom, the event has transcended religious and cultural affiliations and is recognized as a ‘major cultural festival.’ I would like to see that festival extended across the whole of the United Kingdom.
“Whilst Halloween night (31st October 2007) is widely celebrated within Northern Ireland, I believe there is a market for the celebrating of Guy Fawkes Night. History is history and in the new cultural, religious and political dispensation Northern Ireland and the wider UK finds itself, there is in my view, a need to acknowledge events which divided our peoples in the past. Only by learning from the Past can we hope to build a brighter future,” concluded Kenny.