Newsademic British English edition 260

o n f ir e
 
N
ig h t
In the UK, 5th November is known 
by several names. To some it is 
Guy Fawkes Day or Guy Fawkes 
Night. Others call it Bonfire Night 
or Firework Night. In the even­
ing, on this date, effigies are put 
on bonfires and burnt. Fireworks 
light up the night sky. This annual 
event commemorates an incident 
that happened in 1605, or just over 
400 years ago.
In 1603, Queen Elizabeth the First 
o f England died. She had no children. 
The leaders of England then asked 
King James the Sixth (1566 - 1625) 
of Scotland to be king of England
and Scotland. He accepted. This ar­
rangement is known as ‘the Union of 
the Crowns’. King James was a dis­
tant relative of Queen Elizabeth the 
First. In England he was called King 
James the First.
Procession in Lew es on 5th N o vem ber
During the 1500s there were 
many arguments between Catholics 
and Protestants in some European 
countries. Both follow the Christian 
faith. However, they have several 
differences. For example, Protes­
tants believe that all God’s teach­
ings are written in the Bible. They 
call it ‘the Word o f God’. Catholics 
believe that their traditions and be­
liefs are just as important as the B i­
ble. For example, Catholics pray to 
saints and believe in purgatory. Yet 
neither is mentioned in the Bible. 
Catholics say that purgatory is the 
place to where the souls of sinners 
go after they die.
Nowadays, Catholics and Prot­
estants respect each other. Yet hun­
dreds o f years ago many were en­
emies. Queen Elizabeth and King 
James ruled England as Protestants. 
During their reigns there were a 
number of plots to replace them 
with Catholic monarchs. All failed. 
Guy Fawkes was a member of a 
group o f English Catholics. They 
planned to blow up King James and 
many other senior people, as they 
met in the House o f Lords. This is