Miskatonic University Campus

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot...

-- Gunpowder Plot Poem

Happy Guy Fawkes Day

Bonfire night seems to be much better known amongst Americans these days. A decade ago, I never came across any Americans who knew about it. Now it seems like Guy Fawkes has really become part of the conciousness. I guys its all "V"'s fault.

Indeed it is. I've never heard of it before that.

My first Bonfire Day was in the fall of 1992. I was an exchange student at the University of Bangor, Wales and I had never heard of it before that. A friend of mine took me out into the hills on the way to Snowdon, and as we drove through the valleys you could see the slopes near most towns were lit up with the glow of fires. We crashed one. There was a lot of Boddingtons drunk from cans and a lot of fire safety violations. And by "fire safety" I mean common sense. Great fun.

I suppose that its because it's a country-specific festival. It's all about an attempt to destroy the English Parliament.

It's a bit like Thanks Giving. While the British are aware of of it, because it's specifically about the founding of America as a state it's not celebrated much outside of the USA.

Alan Moore's use of the figure in "V" was certainly interesting and seems to have given the image a universality it never had before. You now see people in Guy Fawkes masks at rallies which you never used to see.

Eibon wrote:I suppose that its because it's a country-specific festival. It's all about an attempt to destroy the English Parliament.

It's a bit like Thanks Giving. While the British are aware of of it, because it's specifically about the founding of America as a state it's not celebrated much outside of the USA.

Alan Moore's use of the figure in "V" was certainly interesting and seems to have given the image a universality it never had before. You now see people in Guy Fawkes masks at rallies which you never used to see.

You lot have Thanksgiving far too late... If we waited until mid-November in Canada all of our food would be frozen solid.

Being a member of the Commonwealth I'd have thought Guy Fawkes Day would have had a little more cultural awareness here. However, even post-V, I don't think most know of it here. We don't even have Bonfire Night or anything similar...

The first time I heard about Guy Fawkes Day was actually from reading the M.A.S.K. comics when I was a kid or a young teenager. Who said that comics cannot increase your general knowledge?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.A.S.K.