Four hundred years ago, the 5th of November 1605 (in the 17th century), a man called Guy Fawkes from York and a group of friends try to kill the King James I by blowing up the Houses of Parliament.
1) WHO WAS THE KING?
James I was the
king at that time.
2) WHY DID THEY WANT TO KILL THE KING?
Because the king was the president of England, but people hadn't voted for him. Also, the main religion was the Protestant religion. Guy Fawkes was a catholic and he wanted more rights for catholics, but James I didn't want to give them any more rights.
3) DID THEY KILL THE KING?
No, they didn't. Guy Fawkes was discovered and taken to the Tower of London. There, he was tortured and they cut his head off.
4) What century was it?
It was the 17th
century.
5) Where was Guy Fawkes from?
He was from
York.
6) What's the name of the
night of the 5th of November in England?
Its name is
Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes night.
7) What and how do
they celebrate it?
People celebrate
it with bonfires and fireworks.
8) What do
they say?
They say a
rhyme that says:
"Remember
Remember
the 5th of November
The gunpowder
treason and plot
I know of no reason
Why the
gunpowder treason
Should ever be
forgot"
9) Where does this celebration take
place?
It takes place all
over Britain.
10) How do you say
"bonfire" and "fireworks" in your language?
Bonfire means sute, su, sutzar in Basque. It
means fogata, hoguera, pira in Spanish.
BONFIRE NIGHT or GUY FAWKES NIGHT
Nowadays, people celebrate that Guy Fawkes didn't kill the King with bonfires and fireworks on the 5th of November. They make "Guys" to burn them on the bonfires.
They saya rhymethat says:
"Remember Remember the 5th of November
The gunpowder treason and plot I know of no reason Why the gunpowder treason
Now let's revise the Bonfire-Night-related vocabulary
Task 3
Discuss these questions in groups of 3.
• Which festivals in your country remember historical events? The Conmemoration of the battle in Las Navas de Tolosa, in Jaén and Moors and Christians, in Alcoy (Alicante)...
• Do you have any festivals that are similar to Bonfire Night in your country? Yes, we do. The most similar ones are las Fallas, in March in Valencia, and Saint John's Eve, on June the23rd in every town.
• When do you have firework displays in your country? We usually have them during the Festivals.
• Do you think you would like Bonfire Night? Why/ why not? Yes, because it's a bank holiday and people celebrate it outside: they eat, sing and see the firework display.
• Do you think festivals are a good way to remember historical event? Yes, because there are a funny way to remind people of historical events. In fact, it's a way of bringing the past to the present and make the people live the History of their people.