Guy Fawkes Night

November the 5th is known as Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night. A bonfire is a large fire in an open space that is made as a centrepiece for an event. Guy Fawkes was a member of a Catholic rebellion group who tried to assassinate King James I in 1605, in order to place a Catholic monarch on the throne. The assassination attempt, known as The Gunpowder Plot, took place in Westminster during the state opening of Parliament, which was attended by the king. The police received an anonymous letter telling of the plot, and upon searching The House Of Lords, Guy Fawkes was found guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder, which was enough to destroy the building. A celebration to commemorate the failed plot has been an event every years since. The evening of the 5th starts with bonfires being lit in parks or in private gardens. Games are played, celebration food is eaten, and the focus of the evening is fireworks. There are many official fireworks displays all over the country at the same time, and also many families or groups of people arrange their own gatherings.

11月5日は、Guy Fawkes night、またはBonfire  Night として、知られています。Guy Fawkes は、カトリック教徒の君主を王座につかせるため、1605年にKing James一世 を暗殺しようとしたアンチプロテスタントグループのメンバーで、Bonfire は、イベントの中心となる大きな焚き火です。

暗殺計画は、The Gunpowder Plot として知られ、ウエストミンスターで、国王が出席した国会の新年度開始の式典で実行される予定でした。

この計画を匿名の手紙で知った警察は、建物ををふきとばすに足りる、36バレルもの火薬とともに、Guy Fawkes を見つけたのでした。それ以来、失敗に終わったこの計画を記念し、お祭りが行われます。11月5日、公園や自宅の庭で焚き火に火をつけることから始まり、ゲームや、パーティーフードを楽しみ、同時間にあちこちで花火が上げられます。

It is a tradition to place an effigy of Guy Fawkes on top of the bonfire. During the weeks preceding Guy Fawkes Night, children make these effigies and some children take them into streets and ask passers-by for ‘A penny for the guy’, meaning they would like people to give them a few coins in appreciation of their efforts in making an impressive ‘Guy’. This custom is gradually disappearing, and if you do a Google search for this, most of the photos found are very old.

これらの焚き火の上にGuy Fawkes の像を置くため、子どもたちは何週間も前からGuy Fawkes 像作りに励みます。以前は道行く人に、像作りのごほうびとしての小銭を集める子どもがたちが見られましたが、現在ではそのような子どもたちは見られなくなりました。

Fireworks are not sold in British shops except near to Guy Fawkes Night, unlike Japan where fireworks are mostly bought and used in summer. One of the popular fireworks for home use is the ‘catherine wheel’. This is a disc with several fireworks around the edge. When the fireworks burn, the disc spins, sending sparks out in a spiral.

日本では夏には花火がたくさん売られ、使われますが、イギリスでは花火はGuy Fawkes Night の前以外は、売られていません。写真はcatherine wheelと呼ばれ、円のまわりにつけられた花火がキラキラとまわる、家庭で使われる、人気のある花火のひとつです。

There is a cookie catherine wheel eaten on this day, named after the firework. Examples can be seen here. Another popular Guy Fawkes Night food is the toffee apple:

この日に食べるスイーツとして、花火の名前をとって、catherine wheel クッキーがあります。他に人気があるのは、りんごにトフィー をコーテイングした、toffee apple です。

A popular game on this day is ‘bobbing for apples’, where people try to pick up apples floating in water using only their teeth:

この日には水に浮かべたりんごを口のみで取り上げるゲーム　bobbing for apples などが人気です。