Why Don't Americans Celebrate Guy Fawkes Night? 

I love the intelligence of your posts. I’m one of the few Americans who knew who Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot was. I had never heard of Pope Night however so thank you for the history lesson.

Why don't Americans celebrate Guy Fawkes day? Because it would be deeply hypocritical for a nation founded in violent rebellion against the British Crown to celebrate the Crown crushing a violent rebellion.

We set off fireworks on the 4th of July, the actual day we got rid of ALL royalty in America, including the King and Queen. We did it, but Guy failed.

That's all we DON'T need here in CA is a holiday called bonfire night. 👀

Remember, remember the 5th of November gunpowder, treason and plot. We see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot! (Traditional poem recited on Bonfire Night)

I saw a meme that made my chortle: Guy Fawkes was the only man ever to walk into a government office with completely honest intentions.

Same reason the UK doesn't celebrate US independence day: didn't happen here.

V for Vendetta is one of my favorite movies. Thanks for the history lesson, Laurence!

"why don't americans celebrate this?" GEORGE WASHINGTON there's not really an argument against that...

Because we have the 4th of July

For a long time in the US bonfires were associated with Homecoming, a highschool tradition that usually ocurred this time of year. I wonder if there could be any link at all to Guy Fawkes night or is it that fall is a great time for huge bonfires.

Sorry chief, I only remember the 21st night of September.

They must have been really drunk to, as Lawrence puts it, "drown IN a canoe"

November 5 is also known in America as being my birthday!

60,000 subscribers! Congrats!!!! May the algorithms be forever in your favor.

November for us usually means looking forward to turkey day

I love your humor. This was very interesting, I had heard of Guy Fawkes, but that was about it.

Really like this channel hilarious and enlightening all at the same time

My wife and I served a Church of Scotland (Presbyterian for all US people) congregation in Freeport Bahamas. After witnessing our first Guy Fawkes night hosted by the church on the beach (still quite comfortable temperature-wise), my wife took this burning in effigy to task. Using Biblical principals, mainly on forgiveness, civility and the passage of time as leverage, the next Guy Fawkes night was a witness to burning our own personal tribulations/sins/brokeness on slips of paper. Oh, the Scots handled it well! There still were fireworks, and very small glasses of adult beverages (many of them!) were shared, as usual!

I've been wondering about this, thanks Laurence.

Well since parliament passed the taxes that angered us I always thought we didn’t celebrate Guy Fawkes night because Americans would probably have helped him. Thanks for setting me right.

I think the more famous "Remember" quote over here is "Remember the Alamo." Also, as you can tell from linguistic evidence (which accents spread westward and which did not), more Americans trace their ancestry to Pennsylvania or New York, than Massachusetts.

Very educational! Did not know all the details.... When talking to Curry on the phone I can hear the fireworks from those "practicing" for Bombfire Night. Wish we did have it here.... Thanks for sharing...

I never heard of Guy Fawkes Night until a few years ago.

I finally got it! Listening to just the audio you remind of the dad from the wild thornberrys

This was really interesting and informative. Impressive!

In 1955, we moved from New Jersey to Florida. A family friend gave me a book to read on the long journey: "The Other Door" by P. L. Travers. So, yes, I began the Mary Poppins trilogy by reading the last book first. (I read Asimov's Foundation series the same way.) The book opens on Guy Fawkes Day, with the Banks children looking forward to setting off their fireworks in the Park. That was my initial encounter with the Fifth of November. It took a while to puzzle out some of the British terms, but eventually I got it. I still love the original stories. The original movie was okay, the music good. I enjoyed it, though not exactly Mary as I knew her. I won't see the remake. Wild horses couldn't drag me to it.

Clever and well presented !

Hahahahaha I am so in love with the voices you portrayed for each quote. Please sir, can we have an hour of you reading to us???

George Washington stopped this so-called celebration.

On my way home on Tuesday, I found myself reciting: Remember, Remember The Fifth of November The Gunpowder Treason and Plot I know of no reason The Gunpowder Treason Should Ever be Forgot

#RememberRememberthe5thofNovember is the phrase my husband and I use in regards to our wedding anniversary which is November 5th (9 years tomorrow!). It's one of my favorite phrases we say for that reason. It's even helped other family members to remember our anniversary!

Great video, learned a lot! 👍🏼

Fawkes is indeed well-remembered here, at least by anarchists and other anti-establishment types. They revere him as a hero, even though his mission was not well aligned with many modern-day causes. He's beloved mainly as a symbol of defiance, especially for defiance's own sake.

Thank you,Lawrence. I didn't know Boston had celebrated Pope Night, but having visited Boston a few times it doesn't surprise me at all.

You would've been an awesome history teacher! Thnx for the video

Do Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish celebrate Guy Fawkes Night, or Bond Fire Night or is it just an English celebration? Also thanks for the historical info. I always love your history lessons on lost in the pond!

The best fireworks display I ever saw was on 5/11/89 in London. Back when I did Halloween parties, but Halloween fell during the week, I shifted my parties to Guy Fawkes Night when it fell on the weekend. So, if you want to do something Tuesday night (I live west of Chicago), let me know.

My part of Canada (where I grew up but not the part I live in now) observes Guy Fawkes night, however we exclusively call it Bonfire Night. It is a *huge* deal for kids back home. They will gather up and save branches, wood (and anything that will burn really) for the entire year so they can build as large a bonfire as they can. For adults it's all about drinking on the beach & for the kids it's all about playing with a huge fire. Lol. Growing up I can only remember one Bonfire night where I didn't end up melting my sneakers....while I was wearing them. Every year once the fire starts burning down the older boys will start running through the fires. (I even remember this happening when there was a coil of barbed wire in the fire.)

Yesterday in the office a guy was walking around in a Guy Fawkes mask. It took me a moment to remember the 5th of November.

For the longest time all I knew was there had been some attempt to blow up Parliament, and as an American I just figured Parliament had it comin'. 😉

Very Interesting!! Thanks for the information

One of the things I like that happens in Devon, UK on 5 November is the Ottery St Mary tar barrels. This is when people carry wooden tar filled barrels set alight around the streets of the village. I saw it when I was a kid I saw this, but now it is so popular the streets are packed. But it is often shown on Facebook now. It also used to happen in other towns in the County.

Thanks for explaining what bonfire night is. I’m an American and I watch a few British panel shows here on RU-vid and I’ve heard people refer to it, but I never knew what it was.

Last year there was a dramatision/documentary on telly staring Kit Harrington (Jon Snow of Game of Thrones) about the gunpowder plot. Apparently, Kit is a direct descendant of Robert Catestby who was the brains of the plot. Kit played his own ancestor. Which I think is pretty cool.

I think I remember reading somewhere that in Virginia it got mixed with associations to Bacon's rebellion (1676). Bacon ended up burning down the House of Burgesses and pretty much all of Jamestown. And the afterwards on bonfire night people would burn Bacon's effigy as well as Guy Fawkes.

The word you used at the end of the first sentence made me laugh!! What was it? Pub? 😆😂🤣

The same reason you don't celebrate the 4th of July.

You do great research. And I really enjoy your content mostly for the language side of things. Can I ask why around minute 530 the riot act takes the plural “were”instead of “was”? I’ve noticed that in British English it is typical to see group nouns take a plural like “the crowd are loving it” Where as we would say in American English “the crowd is loving it”.

Remember remember the 5th of November is Election Day this year

Interesting video. Thanks.

Hey! I think you've hit on something here, Lawrence. I say we bring Guy Fawkes Bonfire night into our circle of American holidays. And do it ASAP! We NEED a reason, in this cold and dreary month... to get blasted. Octoberfest ended at the end of September....and... St. Patty's day is STILL months away! We've GOT to have some new holiday, betwixt and between, to fill in that VERY dry gap. Let's do it!

I knew of Guy Fawkes since Grade 8, but have been ignorant of the early American history of its observance. Thank you! 💯🌹🌹🌹

Ohhhh, Doc Brown. Yes, I see the family resemblance now.

I knew this, and the information came in handy in pub trivia.

The town of Paradise California , has an annual Guy Fawkes observation . I just saw it on my Twitter feed, from @townofparadise

V For Vendetta is amazing. One of my favorite movies. And I'm considering celebrating Guy Fawkes Day.

I didn’t know that I was born on a British holiday.

In Olden times when people had earth floors in their little hovel, or if they were rich enough stone floors, or if very rich wooden floors. No carpets. People would cover their floor with hay or rushes. They would throw old bones and other detritus from the dinning table onto the floor. Once a year after harvest when fresh hay was available. the floors would be cleared and piled up outside (No refuse collection service) and a Bone Fire would take place. Usually early November. The gunpowder plot was also early November so the two events merged. Bonfires were a staple practice all over Europe, It is only the UK which attached the gunpowder plot to the event.

When I went back to Britain some time ago I joined a group that on Guy Fawkes Day burned a model of Parliament. We went to a housing estate at Hounslow where tons of kids joined us in asking. "Why burn poor old Guy Fawkes - burn Parliament instead!"

I didn't know we celebrated Guy Fawkes in the 1600's!...well sort of... This is why I love your posts...I never fail to learn something😎❤

Here in Canada, it just depends on where you are. When I was a kid, where I lived they didn't do it, but the next town over did. Mind you, the town I lived in was predominantly Dutch, German and Punjabi in decent with a few Chinese to balance out, but the next town over was mostly English decent and they did do bonfire night. Where I live now in Victoria BC, it still is celebrated by many people in a low key way. Mainly as an adult excuse to forget about Halloween and drink around a campfire, but even this is becoming less common. I think it has simply been overshadowed and consumed by Halloween.

Well done!

I love the Back To The Future references and the V For Vendetta mention lol Remember Remember The 5th Of November

One little piece of history that is mostly lost on both sides of the pond is that the British government in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries demanded that for every dissenter from the Church of England that went to North America, a criminal sentenced to exile would have to come along for the ride, thus planting the seeds of North American criminality which also attracted many from other foreign settlers here. it is hard to imagine puritans getting drunk and demonstrating in the streets of Boston. If you are English and appalled at crime here in the U.S., remember it was your government and courts that were the authors of the tradition of American criminality. Oh, by the way, when we parted ways with "Merry Old...", a crisis was averted by driving the Dutch out of Australia and New Zealand to open a new dumping ground for those who were considered undesirables.

I went to a Guy Fawkes party on Saturday, though the theme was a bit of a joke.

Norway has Sankt Hans Aften on Summer Solstice. HUGE bone fires (kinda like lighting the Beacons of Minas Tirith lol) It is to scare off the evil spirits and witches so that the fall harvest will be prosperous. And to get sozzled and stay up with the Midnight Sun! I loved it so much.

It could just be me, but generally speaking, us rebellious Americans see guy as the hero of the story...

When I was young it was just a good excuse to aim fireworks at one another brings back happy memories of the smell of singed hair and burnt flesh or as I call it the good old days Cheers Lawrence

Channelling Alan Partridge and I'm loving it. Bonfire night is such an odd holiday!

Wow! Thanks for the interesting history lesson! At my house November 5 is my daughter's (my baby!) birthday. She turns 21! 🍻🍷🍹Cheers!

I know the line "remember the 5th of November" from the John Lennon song "Remember" from the Plastic Ono Band album. I also became acquainted with Guy Fawkes from one of the intro lines to the T.S. Eliot poem "The Hollow Men" - "A penny for the old Guy". Just saying...

Something I did not know about American history. Let that out of my school history books. Thanks for telling this history.

There is a video series posted by a couple of English persons. They were very happy to announce that they have no idea what the 4th of July is about. (That's the day we sent England the break up letter)

My ancestors came to the US from Switzerland. English traditions aren't important to us. :D But I did enjoy your video, as I always do, and I learned more about Mr Fawkes. Thank you!

Cheers Professor

He’s seen more as a hero to anyone who cares and more so since V for vendetta came out and anyone who is against the English crown is celebrated. We the Americans loves rebels.

I do recall Guy Fawkes from school, but I didn't know it was a celebration. Very interesting.

I learned a lot from this, thank you! 7:07 🤣😂🤣

In newfoundland Guy Fawkes night is still celebrated I think it's the only place in Canada that does, I grew up having bonfire night and now that I live on the west coast I do miss it.

Does Canada celebrate it? Aren't they more connected to the royalty thing? I liked the info.. you really did your research on this one.

I actually remember a couple years where we had bonfires at my high school in the early 80's in Indiana and it was at least in part attributed (read "used as an educational excuse") to Guy Fawkes Night ..but alas the fires got way too big and out of hand and the school said no more (who thought high school kids setting things on fire was a good idea anyway?)

Lawrence - here's a dirty little secret for you. Some of us Merkins (in the States), actually do observe Guy Fawkes Night, but we tend to keep it rather quite, as if we didn't, the riff-raff would show up and since we can barely avoid blowing ourselves up on the Fourth of July, I can't imagine what might happen if 'Fire Night' ever took hold here. Mum's the word. dobiebloke

We get our fireworks on the 4th of July and New Year's celebrations. Besides, in the North, as you well know, the weather sucks in Nov. probably even more so than in England. How do British Catholics feel about Guy Fawkes? Are they creeped out? Do they stay inside with the door locked and the lights off? Do your Muslims and Hindus go to see the fireworks?

Guy Fawkes night helped contribute to the modern holiday of Halloween. "Penny for the Guy." Became "Trick or Treat."

Come to Kentucky on the 5th of November and we'll celebrate Guy Fawkes Day.

Because everybody's too busy celebrating my birthday!

I remember in the Sixties and early Seventies something similar in America to the Guy Fawkes tradition, but Ours involved burning the Effigy of a rival football team (in full uniform) on the top of a huge pile of wood. It was a big celebration for the Homecoming game with the whole town joining in whooping it up., carrying on waving banners , and generally having a grand time, no violence, no fights, when the fire burned down every one walked down to the football field to watch the game. those days are long gone now with pollution laws and burn bans in effect. but I remember people saying it was kind of like Guy Fawkes Day.

VERY interesting. A piece of Americana history that probably few of us knew. Many thanks.

I miss bonfire night like when i was a kid. Local town sections has a big fire, sparklers and bbqs .

Nov. 5th 1955. Great Scott!

I only know of it because The Cunning Man by DJ Butler is suppose to come out in honor of the day.

I celebrate Guy Fawkes Night...but for a totally different reason that you do. Nov 5th is my birthday!!!! :-D

You’re making that up. I’m almost 50 years old and I’ve never heard of Guy Fawkes. 😋 It sounds even more obscure than “Boxing Day”. Thanks for the insight.

good history lesson!

Happy Guy Fawkes Day💥🔥

Guy Fawkes is the only man who ever entered Parliament with completely honest intentions.

V for vendetta is as close as we get to learning about that part of English history in our school system...

2:18 Remember remember the 5th of November. *The Time Traveling, Flux Capacitor Plot.*

I have to remember the 5th of November, otherwise my brother will be disappointed if I forget his birthday. lol