7 ms·

Bonfire night in the UK is a very communal event with thousands of people gathering together in public parks to watch the spectacle of the bonfire and fireworks

Bonfire night in the UK is a very communal event with thousands of people gathering together in public parks to watch the spectacle of the bonfire and fireworks. It feels quite harmonious, even though it is a celebration of murdeous treachery with loud explosions and hot burning fire.

dmurray 9y ago
Isn't it a celebration of the government foiling a religiously motivated terrorist plot, thanks to superior intelligence gathering and the torture of some of the conspirators, and subsequently used as an excuse to grant the government more powers to crack down on the religious group? That seems like the kind of thing the people could get behind today.
- moomin 9y ago
  There’s also the fact that it was pretty much a setup, the group having been infiltrated some time before.
  - andyjpb 9y ago
    Since 2006 it has been illegal in the UK to "glorify an act of terrorism". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_Act_2006 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_Act_2006 However, as per the article, it's been law since 1606 to "glorify" this particular act; especially because it was foiled.
    - jamiethompson 9y ago
      The terrorism act, of course, doesn't apply to any act of terrorism either sanctioned by or approved of by the government.
    - nicky0 9y ago
      That law was repealed some time ago.
- olivermarks 9y ago
  https://truthandshadows.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/guy-fawkes-the-gunpowder-plot-and-how-false-flag-operations-have-shaped-history/ https://truthandshadows.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/guy-fawkes-... A good read for paranoid types comparing the gunpowder 'plot' to September 11 2001 in the USA and resulting crackdowns... 'Fawkes was not apprehended in a basement room but rather a ground floor room, one remarkably easily rented by the plotters. There was, accordingly, no tunnel. The authorship of the letter by which the King learned of the plot is murky. It was turned over to the King by the Royal Chancellor, Sir Robert Cecil, the Earl of Salisbury. Sir Cecil I would characterize as the Dick Cheney of his day....' etc etc
  - walshemj 9y ago
    The Cecils where the equivalent of the DCI or the heads of MI5 and MI6 - the BBC has a series on them currently airing
    - olivermarks 9y ago
      Thanks, I'll have to find that
      - olivermarks 9y ago
        watching first episode, are the commentators actors or people who have specialized in this? somewhat odd format...also dark/deep state parallels are interesting...
moomin 9y ago
One great thing about it is that we don’t have people letting off fireworks all year round for no reason at all. Unlike some of our close neighbors.
- JoeMalt 9y ago
  It's illegal to set off fireworks after 11pm except on 4 dates, Bonfire Night being one of them (the others are Chinese New Year, New Year's Eve and Diwali).
voidifremoved 9y ago
Not to mention the anti - catholic bigotry that is still evident in some parts of the uk on bonfire night.
- celticninja 9y ago
  Really? Where do you see anti-catholic bigotry on Guy Fawkes night, the religious aspect of it is long forgotten and people dont really understand or care why it is a celebration, its just a bit of fun in the winter nights.
  - pessimizer 9y ago
    In Northern Ireland, they literally put posters of Catholic politicians on the bonfires.
    - celticninja 9y ago
      That's the 12th July not November 5th and Northern Ireland is not representative of the rest of the UK in this instance.
  - isostatic 9y ago
    I suspect parts of Northern Ireland and Glasgow
  - confounded 9y ago
    In Lewes for example (one of the biggest celebrations in the UK) they still burn an effigy of the pope every year. These days they burn Trump too, but the anti-Catholic traditions continue.
    - onion2k 9y ago
      A particular quirk of British people is that we're very bad at stopping things that are considered traditions. We carry on with them long past the time they were relevant, maybe because none of us wants to be the one to question them. I doubt there's any anti-Catholic feeling in Lewes at all, but a lot of people who go along with burning an effigy of the pope because that's what they've always done. As a more obvious example, Lewes bonfire society only agreed to stop blacking up for Nov. 5th this year. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/nov/05/lewes-bonfire-society-ends-tradition-criticised-for-being-racist https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/nov/05/lewes-b...
hanoz 9y ago
Hacker News readers may be amused to hear of this modern twist on proceedings - burning an effigy of the local broadband provider: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-41876557 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-41876557
- isostatic 9y ago
  Village my mother in law lived in until very recently still has no broadband. 768k would be a dream.
- ataturk 9y ago
  I should do that--the two providers in my locale both stink!

dmurray 9y ago

Isn't it a celebration of the government foiling a religiously motivated terrorist plot, thanks to superior intelligence gathering and the torture of some of the conspirators, and subsequently used as an excuse to grant the government more powers to crack down on the religious group? That seems like the kind of thing the people could get behind today.

moomin 9y ago
There’s also the fact that it was pretty much a setup, the group having been infiltrated some time before.
- andyjpb 9y ago
  Since 2006 it has been illegal in the UK to "glorify an act of terrorism". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_Act_2006 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_Act_2006 However, as per the article, it's been law since 1606 to "glorify" this particular act; especially because it was foiled.
  - jamiethompson 9y ago
    The terrorism act, of course, doesn't apply to any act of terrorism either sanctioned by or approved of by the government.
  - nicky0 9y ago
    That law was repealed some time ago.
olivermarks 9y ago
https://truthandshadows.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/guy-fawkes-the-gunpowder-plot-and-how-false-flag-operations-have-shaped-history/ https://truthandshadows.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/guy-fawkes-... A good read for paranoid types comparing the gunpowder 'plot' to September 11 2001 in the USA and resulting crackdowns... 'Fawkes was not apprehended in a basement room but rather a ground floor room, one remarkably easily rented by the plotters. There was, accordingly, no tunnel. The authorship of the letter by which the King learned of the plot is murky. It was turned over to the King by the Royal Chancellor, Sir Robert Cecil, the Earl of Salisbury. Sir Cecil I would characterize as the Dick Cheney of his day....' etc etc
- walshemj 9y ago
  The Cecils where the equivalent of the DCI or the heads of MI5 and MI6 - the BBC has a series on them currently airing
  - olivermarks 9y ago
    Thanks, I'll have to find that
    - olivermarks 9y ago
      watching first episode, are the commentators actors or people who have specialized in this? somewhat odd format...also dark/deep state parallels are interesting...

moomin 9y ago

One great thing about it is that we don’t have people letting off fireworks all year round for no reason at all. Unlike some of our close neighbors.

JoeMalt 9y ago
It's illegal to set off fireworks after 11pm except on 4 dates, Bonfire Night being one of them (the others are Chinese New Year, New Year's Eve and Diwali).

voidifremoved 9y ago

Not to mention the anti - catholic bigotry that is still evident in some parts of the uk on bonfire night.

celticninja 9y ago
Really? Where do you see anti-catholic bigotry on Guy Fawkes night, the religious aspect of it is long forgotten and people dont really understand or care why it is a celebration, its just a bit of fun in the winter nights.
- pessimizer 9y ago
  In Northern Ireland, they literally put posters of Catholic politicians on the bonfires.
  - celticninja 9y ago
    That's the 12th July not November 5th and Northern Ireland is not representative of the rest of the UK in this instance.
- isostatic 9y ago
  I suspect parts of Northern Ireland and Glasgow
- confounded 9y ago
  In Lewes for example (one of the biggest celebrations in the UK) they still burn an effigy of the pope every year. These days they burn Trump too, but the anti-Catholic traditions continue.
  - onion2k 9y ago
    A particular quirk of British people is that we're very bad at stopping things that are considered traditions. We carry on with them long past the time they were relevant, maybe because none of us wants to be the one to question them. I doubt there's any anti-Catholic feeling in Lewes at all, but a lot of people who go along with burning an effigy of the pope because that's what they've always done. As a more obvious example, Lewes bonfire society only agreed to stop blacking up for Nov. 5th this year. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/nov/05/lewes-bonfire-society-ends-tradition-criticised-for-being-racist https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/nov/05/lewes-b...

hanoz 9y ago

Hacker News readers may be amused to hear of this modern twist on proceedings - burning an effigy of the local broadband provider: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-41876557 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-41876557

isostatic 9y ago
Village my mother in law lived in until very recently still has no broadband. 768k would be a dream.
ataturk 9y ago
I should do that--the two providers in my locale both stink!