UK: Bonfire Night & Fool´s Day

United Kingdom  
Bonfire Night         

Flag of UK

On 5 November, people remember the plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament by celebrating ‘Bonfire Night’. All over Britain there are firework displays and bonfires with models of Guy Fawkes, which are burned on the fire. The Guy is made of old clothes and the clothes are filled with newspaper. The fireworks are a reminder of the gunpowder that Guy Fawkes hid in the cellar of Parliament. Some people have a small bonfire in their garden on 5 November, while in main towns and cities there are big bonfires and firework displays.

The biggest firework display is the Edenbridge Display in Kent. Edenbridge also has the biggest Guy: a nine-metre ‘celebrity’ model is burned there every year. 

Traditional Bonfire Night food is hot baked potatoes. They are cooked on the bonfire and filled with butter and cheese. There are also toffee apples (apples on a stick, covered in sweet toffee) and in the north of England they eat a special type of cake called parkin.      

Fool´s Day

April Fool’s Day is on 1 April. It’s the custom in the UK to play a trick or a joke on someone on this day. If the person falls for the joke, then they are called an ‘April Fool’. In fact, it’s only half a day because April Fool’s Day finishes at midday.

Some newspapers, magazines, and other published media report fake stories, which are usually explained the next day or below the news section in small letters.

To finish United Kingdom, I put the anthem with the lyric and some icons. Enjoy it!