Guy Fawkes Night is an annual commemoration of the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. To celebrate the arrest, which put an end to the plot on King James I's life, people lit bonfires around London, and months later the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving. Within a few decades Gunpowder Treason Day, as it was known, became the predominant English state commemoration. As it carried strong Protestant religious overtones, it also became a focus for anti-Catholic sentiment; increasingly raucous celebrations featured the burning of effigies of popular hate-figures, such as the pope. Towards the end of the 18th century, children were seen begging for money with effigies of Guy Fawkes. In the 1850s much of the day's anti- Catholic rhetoric was toned down, and by the 20th century Guy Fawkes Day had become an enjoyable social commemoration. Today it is usually celebrated with bonfires and extravagant firework displays.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1138:
Lý Anh Tông was enthroned as emperor of Đại Việt at the age of two, starting a 37-year reign. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BD_Anh_T%C3%B4ng
1828:
Greek War of Independence: The French Morea expedition to recapture Morea (now the Peloponnese) ended when the last Ottoman forces departed the peninsula. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morea_expedition
1943:
World War II: An unknown aircraft dropped four bombs on Vatican City, which maintained neutrality during the war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_the_Vatican
1967:
A train derailed near Hither Green maintenance depot in London, killing 49 people and injuring 78 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hither_Green_rail_crash
2007:
Led by Google, 34 companies established the Open Handset Alliance to develop open standards for mobile devices, leading to the development of the Android operating system (logo pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
loss leader: (marketing) An item that is sold at or below cost in an effort to stimulate other profitable sales. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/loss_leader
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
If the average man had had his way there would probably never have been any state. Even today he resents it, classes death with taxes, and yearns for that government which governs least. If he asks for many laws it is only because he is sure that his neighbor needs them; privately he is an unphilosophical anarchist, and thinks laws in his own case superfluous. In the simplest societies there is hardly any government. --Will Durant https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Will_Durant