11. Holidays and Festivals in November

Bonfire Night — 5thNovember

In November 1605, the infamous Gunpowder Plot¹¹took place in which some Catholics plotted to blow up the English Parliament and King James I, on the day set for the king to open Parliament. The men were angry because the king had treated them badly and they didn’t like it. The story is remembered each 5th November when “Guys” are burned in a celebration known as “Bonfire Night”.

Remembrance Day in Britain

November is the time of the year when British people wear a red poppy in memory of those who sacrificed their lives for the British during wars.

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks the signing of the Armistice, on 11th November 1918, to signal the end of World War One. At 11 am on 11stNovember 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years continuous warfare.

Remembrance Day is on 11 November. It is a special day set aside to remember all those men and women who were killed during the two world wars and other conflicts. At one time the day was known as Armistice Day and was renamed Remembrance Day after the Second World War.

Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday in November, which is usually the Sunday nearest to 11st November. Special services are held at war memorials and churches all over Britain.

A national ceremony takes place at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London. The Queen lays the first wreath at the Cenotaph.

Wreaths are layed beside war memorials by companies, clubs and societies. People also leave small wooden crosses by the memorials in remembrance of a family member who died in war.