Guy Fawke’s Day

History 4 Minutes

From History.com:

Observed in the United Kingdom every year on November 5, Guy Fawkes Day—also called Bonfire Night or Fireworks Night—commemorates a failed assassination attempt from more than 400 years ago.

On November 5, 1605, Guy Fawkes and a group of radical English Catholics tried to assassinate King James I by blowing up Parliament’s House of Lords. The plot went awry and all of the conspirators were executed. Soon after, Britons began to celebrate Fawkes’ demise and the survival of their king by burning effigies, lighting bonfires and setting off fireworks—a tradition that has continued to this day.

Background to the Gunpowder Plot

Catholicism in England was heavily repressed under Queen Elizabeth I, particularly after the pope excommunicated her in 1570. During her reign, dozens of priests were put to death, and Catholics could not even legally celebrate Mass or be married according to their own rites. As a result, many Catholics had high hopes when King James I took the throne upon Elizabeth’s death in 1603. James’ wife, Anne, is believed to have previously converted to Catholicism, and his mother, Mary Queen of Scots, was Elizabeth’s Catholic arch-rival prior to being executed. There were even rumors, inspired by his diplomatic overtures to the pope, that James himself would become Catholic.

It soon became clear, however, that James did not support religious tolerance for Catholics. In 1604 he publicly condemned Catholicism as a superstition, ordered all Catholic priests to leave England and expressed concern that the number of Catholics was increasing. He also largely continued with the repressive policies of his predecessor, such as fines for those refusing to attend Protestant services.

English Catholics had organized several failed conspiracies against Elizabeth, and these continued under James. In 1603 a few priests and laymen hatched the so-called Bye Plot to kidnap James, only to be turned in by fellow Catholics. Another related conspiracy that year, known as the Main Plot, sought to kill James and install his cousin on the throne. Then, in May 1604, a handful of Catholic dissidents—Guy Fawkes, Robert Catesby, Tom Wintour, Jack Wright and Thomas Percy—met at the Duck and Drake Inn in London, where Catesby proposed a plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament with gunpowder. Afterward, all five men purportedly swore an oath of secrecy upon a prayer book.

The Gunpowder Plot Is Hatched—Then Foiled

Eight other conspirators would later join what became known as the Gunpowder Plot. But although Catesby was the ringleader, Fawkes has garnered most of the publicity over the past 400-plus years. Born in 1570 in York, England, Fawkes spent about a decade fighting for Spain against Protestant rebels in the Spanish-controlled Netherlands. He also personally petitioned the king of Spain for help in starting an English rebellion against James. According to writings in the Spanish archives, Fawkes believed the English king was a heretic who would drive out his Catholic subjects. Fawkes also apparently expressed strong anti-Scottish prejudices.

By 1605, Fawkes was calling himself Guido rather than Guy. He also used the alias John Johnson while serving as caretaker of a cellar—located just below the House of Lords—that the plotters had leased in order to stockpile gunpowder. Under the plan, Fawkes would light a fuse on November 5, 1605, during the opening of a new session of Parliament. James, his eldest son, the House of Lords and the House of Commons would all be blown sky-high. In the meantime, as Fawkes escaped by boat across the River Thames, his fellow conspirators would start an uprising in the English Midlands, kidnap James’ daughter Elizabeth, install her as a puppet queen and eventually marry her off to a Catholic, thereby restoring the Catholic monarchy.

On October 26, an anonymous letter advising a Catholic sympathizer to avoid the State Opening of Parliament alerted the authorities to the existence of a plot. To this day, no one knows for sure who wrote the letter. Some historians have even suggested that it was fabricated and that the authorities already knew of the Gunpowder Plot, only letting it progress as an excuse to further crack down on Catholicism.

Either way, a search party found Fawkes skulking in his cellar around midnight on November 4, with matches in his pocket and 36 barrels of gunpowder stacked next to him. For Fawkes, the plot’s failure could be blamed on “the devil and not God.” He was taken to the Tower of London and tortured upon the special order of King James. Soon after, his co-conspirators were likewise arrested, except for four, including Catesby, who died in a shootout with English troops.

Fawkes and his surviving co-conspirators were all found guilty of high treason and sentenced to death in January 1606 by hanging, drawing and quartering. A Jesuit priest was also executed a few months later for his alleged involvement, even as new laws banned Catholics from voting in elections, practicing law or serving in the military. In fact, Catholics were not fully emancipated in England until the 19th century.

Guy Fawkes Day Becomes a Holiday

After the plot was revealed, Londoners began lighting celebratory bonfires, and in January 1606 an act of Parliament designated November 5 as a day of thanksgiving. Guy Fawkes Day festivities soon spread as far as the American colonies, where they became known as Pope Day. In keeping with the anti-Catholic sentiment of the time, British subjects on both sides of the Atlantic would burn an effigy of the pope.

That tradition completely died out in the United States by the 19th century, whereas in Britain Guy Fawkes Day became a time to get together with friends and family, set off fireworks, light bonfires, attend parades and burn effigies of Fawkes. Children traditionally wheeled around their effigies demanding a “penny for the Guy” (a similar custom to Halloween trick-or-treating) and imploring crowds to “remember, remember the fifth of November.”

Guy Fawkes himself, meanwhile, has undergone something of a makeover. Once known as a notorious traitor, he is now portrayed in some circles as a revolutionary hero, largely due to the influence of the 1980s graphic novel “V for Vendetta” and the 2005 movie of the same name, which depicted a protagonist who wore a Guy Fawkes mask while battling a future fascist government in Britain.

Guy Fawkes masks even cropped up at Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City and elsewhere. “Every generation reinvents Guy Fawkes to suit their needs,” explained historian William B. Robison of Southeastern Louisiana University. “But Fawkes was just one of the flunkies. It really should be Robert Catesby Day.”

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Published by pat frederick

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72 thoughts on “Guy Fawke’s Day”

  1. Good Morning All!

    no internet this morning for a while. when it came back on , I am seeing the news headlines…NYC is done. the dems called in bomb threats, messed with voting machines and voter registry…same old, same old on election day.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. is he going to print money or what? or is this his scheme to attract people to NYC since the sane people will be leaving?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Amy Mek
      @AmyMek
      🚨 HEY TEXAS — PAY ATTENTION 🚨

      NYC was the dry run. Your state is THE target.

      They call Texas “the Mecca of the West.” That isn’t praise — it’s a warning.

      In my investigations, I learned that Sheikh Uthman Ibn Farooq – born in Pakistan – is reportedly moving to TEXAS.

      He is not here to assimilate. He is here to transform.

      He says it plainly:

      📢 “Islam will enter every house.”
      📢 “Their children will be Muslim.”
      📢 “You can stop immigration, you can do Muslim bans — it’s not stopping.”
      📢 “If you fight Islam, I will fight you — even if you are my own father.”
      📢 “Our sisters, promote the dawah… on TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp.”

      They tell you their plans – so why aren’t your leaders listening?

      If Texas falls to this takeover, there will be no turning back.

      Texans: demand answers. Demand accountability.

      I will be publicly reporting every elected official and bureaucrat who enables this takeover. No more platitudes — our public servants must answer for allowing this invasion to proceed.

      Enough empty promises. Demand action now.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. EXCERPT: “A self-described “democratic socialist” will now govern New York City, capitalism’s hub in America and the free world, and Just the News has obtained internal plans from the Democratic Socialists of America detailing how the NYC-DSA branch that Zohran Mamdani belongs to intends to pressure him to inject arguably extreme anti-Israel policies into the management — and life — of the Big Apple.

    Mamdani, who defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa on Tuesday, has been a longtime DSA member and leader, and he is listed as one of the group’s nine “New York State Socialists in Office.” The DSA helped Mamdani win the Democratic primary in June and the mayorality on Tuesday, but Mamdani sought to distance himself from the DSA’s socialist and revolutionary platform during the mayor’s race — something, according to Politico, the NYC branch of the socialist group gave him public cover to do.

    The list of DSA demands on Mamdani

    The “Socialists in Office” website says that it is a group of “DSA endorsed elected officials that works together in the New York State legislature to advance a socialist vision for working class people across our state” — and features Mamdani. A recently unearthed clip from 2023 shows Mamdani telling the DSA national conference — which he was the keynote speaker for — that “when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it has been laced by the IDF.”

    Just the News obtained an internal planning document from the NYC-DSA’s Anti-War Working Group (AWWG) which shows the group has spent weeks plotting how to pressure the new Mamdani administration to carry out their socialist “demands” — including demands to push an anti-Israel agenda at New York City Hall.

    The document from the group, obtained by Just the News, is titled “AWWG Palestine Policy Meeting Meeting Agenda & Notes” — and it contains the internal plans of the DSA working group. The document was obtained when a Just the News reporter used his real name to RSVP to an AWWG meeting that was listed as open to the public. 

    This reporter was sent a Zoom link to join, and a Google document containing the AWWG strategy document, reproduced below, was publicly shared in the Zoom chat. The link to the document has since been disabled…..”

    https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/socialist-will-govern-capitalist-capital-heres-what-socialists-who

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Just The News: “President Donald Trump has reportedly invited every Republican U.S. senator to breakfast at the White House on Wednesday morning, following the president’s urging of the senators to eliminate the filibuster.

    The breakfast will come exactly one year after Trump’s victory for a second term in office, and on the same day, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments over the president’s tariffs.

    The meeting comes as the government surpasses its longest shutdown in history, which has lasted over 35 days. Trump has been increasingly putting pressure on Senate Republicans to “terminate the filibuster” in an effort to reopen the government.

    On Tuesday, the president wrote a lengthy social media post outlining reasons for the GOP to eliminate the filibuster, arguing that it is holding Republicans back from passing legislation, thereby making them vulnerable in the midterms.

    “The Democrats are far more likely to win the Midterms, and the next Presidential Election, if we don’t do the Termination of the Filibuster (The Nuclear Option!), because it will be impossible for Republicans to get Common Sense Policies done with these Craze Democrat Lunatics being able to block everything by withholding their votes,” Trump posted to Truth Social. “FOR THREE YEARS, NOTHING WILL BE PASSED, AND REPUBLICANS WILL BE BLAMED.”

    Election results from Tuesday night, which favored Democrats, could give the president leverage in his pursuit to “nuke” the filibuster.”

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Aw, jeez! She’s a Muslim!!!

    Just The News: “Democrat Ghazala Hashmi was projected to win the Virginia lieutenant governor’s race on Tuesday evening.

    The Associated Press called the race at 8:36, at which time Hashmi took 53.2% of the vote to Republican John Reid’s 46.6%, with 62% of precincts reporting. The race was notably closer than the gubernatorial contest.”

    Liked by 1 person

  12. “The Election Blues: How the west lost on election day in 2025.’

    Dr. Robert W. Malone, Nov 05, 2025

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “United States elections tend to swing like a pendulum, with parties in power often losing during off-year elections. We are divided by a two-party system. Today’s election results are precisely what we might have expected. Let’s go over some basic facts.

    Democrats outspent Republicans almost three to one, and let’s face it, the Democrats had a better strategy for turning out blue voters. But beyond that, an off-year election cycle is complex for the party in power to win.

    Virginia has been blue for a decade, with Northern Virginia dominating the polling stations. The outlier was Governor Youngkin’s win in the last statewide election, which was influenced by scandals in Northern Virginia involving a young man claiming to be a woman and abusing young women in school bathrooms, combined with some serious missteps by the Democratic candidate, who was strongly supported by Biden’s corrupt machinery. Before that election, Virginia had been seen as a deeply blue state – it is just returning to the status quo.

    Beyond the basic logistics of Virginia’s politics, Winsome Sears is not a charismatic person. Nor is she a great orator. What Virginia needed was a strong candidate to run against Spanberger, and frankly, Winsome never had a chance to win. That was clear from the onset of the race. She was underfunded, never seemed to find her voice, compelling message, and a connection to the voters. Her opponent was very well funded, and blanketed voters with glossy direct mail advertisements that painted Sears as a threat who would raise taxes and curtail liberties.

    Similarly, New Jersey is generally a Democratic state, and the fact that the Republican candidate even got as close as he did to winning is an impressive feat in an off year cycle.

    In New York City, Democrats’ strong showing might suggest the electorate was eager for a shift further to the left. I don’t buy that logic – because what options were available on that ballot, really? On one side, there was the deeply unpopular and corrupt Cuomo, who didn’t even run as a Democrat or Republican. After Eric Adams made a mess of his term as mayor, with his reputation damaged and electoral weakness becoming a self-reinforcing loop, who was left to run? Who knows the name of the completely irrelevant Republican candidate for Mayor of New York City in 2025? I didn’t, until I looked it up.

    For those who want to see an example of a deeply corrupted state, look no further than NYC’s 2026 mayoral ballot.

    Fusion voting is a type of electoral system used in NYC that allows more than one political party to endorse the same candidate for an office. In NYC, this means a candidate’s name can appear more than once on the ballot. How fair is that?

    The duplication of fusion voting options on the ballot can confuse voters and lead to mistakes. Without ID checks in NYC, the system remains vulnerable to fraud, as evidenced by past irregularities. These are not harmless features but appear as intentional systemic process risks that damage trust in elections. Reforming the ballots to be simpler, without duplicating candidate names, and ensuring voter IDs are verified are crucial to restoring voting integrity. But that isn’t going to happen anytime soon in New York City – so don’t expect anything different going forward.

    Then there is California, a state where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by almost 2 to 1. So, is it any surprise that Prop 50 passed? This initiative is designed to allow the very blue Californian legislators to redraw its congressional map mid-cycle (i.e., between censuses) for the 2026, 2028, and 2030 elections. Just more gerrymandering – nothing to see here, folks. So, California Prop 50 will give more power to the Democrats in control of California. But this is another completely expected and unsurprising result.

    Many people might be looking ahead to what this signals for 2026 and, more importantly, the 2028 presidential election. However, the truth is that the United States was simply following its usual voting patterns during an off-year election cycle. Since none of the results were significantly different from expectations, they don’t tell us much about what might happen in 2026 and beyond.

    2026 looms large

    Although the economy is no longer in free fall, economic growth is very modest. Furthermore, stock market analysts are predicting a major haircut sometime in 2026. This will further erode trust in Republican leadership. The Congressional map is favorable to Republicans in the Senate, as Democrats would need to flip at least four seats to seize the majority, a difficult task under current conditions.

    Some models suggest that Republicans may lose control of the House in 2026. That said, the 2027 Congressional race, certainly in the House, may be nothing more than a race to the bottom – as it may come down to which states can gerrymander the hardest, with indigo blue California taking the lead with Prop 50. Congress only has a year left of guaranteed Republican control. Let’s hope that they can do a better job of making lasting changes because, frankly, what they have accomplished in 2026 has been rather lackluster.

    The Trump administration has been the most muscular presidency in modern history, but lobbyists and big money continue to corrupt Congress. They have lost their way. Congress has not followed through with legislation supporting Trump’s agenda. This is a huge disappointment.

    The scary reality is that most of Trump’s wins have been by executive action; Congress has yet to back up his tour de force with any meaningful legislation. If 2028 doesn’t yield a Republican president, all of Trump’s gains can be lost with the stroke of a pen on January 20th, 2028.

    We are in a race to save America. One state at a time. The alternative is to watch them fall like Mamdami’s dominoes. What happened yesterday is not predictive of the next two election cycles. What happened was to be expected, given the nature of the regional political base. But it was a wake-up call to anyone listening. Things may not go as planned.

    The subsequent two election cycles are almost here, and the Republican Party and Congressional members are ill-prepared for the fight of their lives. Now is the time for them to get on board and do the real work of governing. Perhaps they should consider actively supporting the grassroots MAHA and MAGA movements?”

    Liked by 1 person

  13. “Chester County Poll Book Fiasco Highlights PA’s Election Integrity Issues – Election watchers were outraged over the inconvenience to voters and the election integrity weaknesses this situation has created.”

    The Federalist, By: Beth Brelje, November 05, 2025

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Chester County Pennsylvania election officials decided to extend voting hours Tuesday, keeping polls open until 10 p.m. after a disastrous start to the general election.

    Poll books where voters sign to show they are a registered voter in the county only listed Republicans and Democrats. The names of some 75,000 independent and unaffiliated voters were not in the book, meaning they could not be verified as a registered voter and had to cast provisional ballots.

    When a voter goes to a new polling place for the first time, Pennsylvania requires them to show identification and sign the poll book. After that, their signature from the previous year is in the book and each year they sign near their old signature.  

    Independent and unaffiliated voters are not allowed to vote in the spring primary election; that is for registered Republicans and Democrats only. One could guess the county was working with a primary poll book in the general election, but that is not clear. Chester election officials promised to return a call to The Federalist Tuesday but never did.  

    Voters and election watchers were outraged not only for the inconvenience to voters, but for the election integrity weaknesses this situation has created. The problem was reportedly not handled with the same procedure in every case. Some voters were turned away and told to come back later, many cast provisional ballots. Chester County GOP Chairman Raffi Tezian told The Federalist they don’t know if voters who were turned away were all able to return to cast their ballot. And he said precincts ran out of provisional ballot supplies such as secrecy envelopes and stickers to seal them.

    “I do have a concern,” Tezian said. “This provisional ballot process was supposed to be the process that had to be followed, but early on, there was a process that we learned, some of the precincts were using, where they allowed people who were not on the poll books, to simply write their name on a blank page in the book, sign their name, and then vote in the traditional fashion. So they were providing inconsistent guidance on voting procedures.”

    Proper polling books were delivered to all precincts later in the day. Between 3:45-5 p.m.  “The fact that they would allow an election to go on without the proper poll books is outrageous,” Tezian said. “I don’t know how that occurs in a county of our size. I think this reflects on the dysfunction and mismanagement that we’ve been dealing with under Democrat leadership in our county… we have a single Republican Commissioner, and that’s the only representation we have at the county level.”

    Chester has had other recent scandals in county government, he said, citing the county’s Democrat Prothonotary Debbie Bookman, who quit last year under a cloud of financial irregularities, leaving an opening for voters to fill. But the county didn’t put the position on the ballot for the May 20 primary, as Linda Stein of Broad and Liberty reported. And Democrat Treasurer Patricia Maisano, who ran for reelection on this ballot, has made the news for a trouble past relating to her credentials in her part time job as an expert witness in court cases.

    “From our perspective, we’re trying to get people trying to get people out to vote and participate, and then this kind of thing happens and it has a chilling effect, right? It’s unfortunate,” Tezian said. “I hope going forward that they do a deep dive and a debrief on this whole thing, because I think that’s going to be critical.”

    Liked by 1 person

  14. “Do you notice anything specifically about the top ten or fifteen of the states on this list? What do they all have in common?”

    Liked by 1 person

  15. “According to MaineHealth, an error with the computer system responsible for generating estate vendor letters caused the letters to inadvertently be issued. 

    “MaineHealth sincerely regrets this error and has sent apology letters to all patients who have been affected,” the company told the Guardian in a statement. “At no time were these patients listed as deceased in their medical records, and the issue has been fully resolved.” Nevertheless, some patients who received the letters reported that they were shaken. One woman described the experience as “really shocking and upsetting.”

    Liked by 1 person

        2. hubby just got done with supper and i showed him the pictures. he said THANK YOU!

          and I got lessons on why it (the twister special) was named this or that–the engine, the body lines and the Harley and its seat prompted a discussion on that too.

          thanks Filly!!!

          Liked by 1 person

  23. Keynote Speaker

    November 5, 2025 10:57 am

    US Solicitor General Sauer is currently arguing in support of presidential authority (Art. II) to impose tariffs. He’s very hard to follow. He speaks very fast – exceedingly so – and he sounds like he either has laryngitis, or a bad case of vocal fry.

    He’s also getting alot of challenging questions from the three Libby women and the CJ.

    Liked by 1 person

  25. “Mamdani is a Gift to Trump and MAGA”

    Clandestine, Nov 05, 2025

    “Mamdani is certainly bad for NYC, but big picture, he might be the best thing possible for Trump/MAGA. Why? Mamdani is going to give Trump the necessary optics to justify going into NYC and other cities with NG/ICE.

    Mamdani personifies the most radical elements of the Left. He is essentially a walking proof that Trump is right about the Democrats and their party’s trajectory.

    Mamdani is going to be a walking red-pill machine. He is going to give Trump all the headlines and talking points to justify Trump’s ultimate goal, which is deploying NG/ICE, deporting the illegals, passing voter ID, arresting the treasonous coup-plotters, and saving the Republic.

    Mamdani is a gift to Trump and MAGA.”

    Liked by 1 person

  26. “The Time to Save the Republic is Now”

    Clandestine, Nov 05, 2025

    “Many of you fail to see the big picture. The Dems are currently engaged in a nationwide insurrection. It’s a continuation of the treasonous plot to remove Trump. It’s one giant 10+ year regime-change operation. They cannot be negotiated with. We are at war.

    There is no asking nicely anymore. All the lines have been crossed. They are not concerned with the interests of the American People. They are only concerned with maintaining their power, which means protecting their illegal voters and ensuring there are no voter-ID laws.

    There will not be any coexistence. The Democrat Party will cease to exist when all is said and done. The crimes they have committed cannot and will not be forgiven. The path to ensuring they never hold power again:

    -Secure the border (Trump already did)

    -Deport the illegals (process underway)

    -Pass voter-ID/no mail-in ballots

    If we do these things, the Democrats will no longer be able to cheat in elections, they will never win a federal election again, and they will eventually cease to exist. If we go nuclear and terminate the filibuster, we can accomplish all of this, and effectively end the Democrat Party.

    If we fail to secure elections before the 2026 midterms, we likely will never get the opportunity to secure elections, and then when the Democrats win again, we will become a one-party communist state, and the Republic will be lost forever.

    The time for Republicans to act, is right now.”

    Liked by 1 person

  30. WeThePeople2016

    November 5, 2025 2:27 pm

    BREAKING: Enormous victory as U.S. Senate CONFIRMS Trump judicial nominee Eric Tung as Circuit Judge for the 9th Circuit, 52-45.

    CANCELLING OUT activist judges!

    Imagine how quickly we could pass legislation via votes like THIS – just 52 votes – if the filibuster was nuked. GET IT DONE!

    Join👉 @SGTnewsNetwork

    https://t.me/SGTnewsNetwork/111927

    Liked by 1 person

  41. this is an interesting opinion

    JoeLange
    @JoeLang51440671
    Trump has been waiting for Mamdani to win.

    He’s been bankrolled by the Muslim Brotherhood from the beginning.

    CAIR is a terrorist supporting group that is controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood.

    I’ve been trying to tell people, not to fear a Mamdani ascension.

    His candidacy was a “gift.”

    Mamdani opens the door to a huge part of the insurgency that took a major foothold under Obama.

    Was Trump waiting for Mamdani to win?

    Trump’s post on Truth Social after Mamdani’s victory.

    “…AND SO IT BEGINS!”

    Anybody remember this little nugget of information dropped by Secretary of State Marco Rubio a while back?

    “Marco Rubio says US working to designate Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization”

    “In an interview with Sid Rosenberg on Sid and Friends in the Morning, Rubio was asked about the support New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is receiving from groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood. Rosenberg pressed Rubio on whether the administration would move to officially designate the group, and possibly the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), as terrorist entities.”

    “Yeah, all of that is in the works,” Rubio said, noting that the Brotherhood operates in multiple branches, each requiring its own designation. He stressed that the process is lengthy and must be thorough, but confirmed that it is a priority. “We are constantly reviewing for groups to designate, for what they are: supporters of terrorists, maybe terrorists themselves. We haven’t done this in a long time, so we’ve got a lot of catch-up to do. And you’ve mentioned a couple names, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, that are of grave concern.”

    https://x.com/JoeLang51440671/status/1986167147714826456

    Liked by 1 person

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