First Bonfire Day

Abstract

English authorities were thankful almost beyond measure for the last-minute thwarting of the Gunpowder Plot. In place of the plotters’ planned explosion, throughout London bonfires were lit on November 5, 1605, to celebrate this escape from treason. In gratitude, Parliament in January passed a Fifth of November Act, decreeing that every November 5 henceforth should be celebrated as a holiday and day of thanksgiving, Attendance at special church services was mandated for the morning, while evenings centered on bonfires, often complete with fireworks mocking the failure of the explosion planned for the House of Lords. As a typical example, a few days after that first November 5 William Barlow, bishop of Rochester, gave a sermon comparing Guy Fawkes to Caligula and Nero.