Gunpowder Day

Today (11/5) is Gunpowder Day! Originally my husband thought this would be a cool post...because who doesn't like gunpowder? However, it wasn't quite the holiday he was expecting.

Hubby was expecting a holiday about gunpowder itself. However, this is actually an English holiday. Today is also known as Guy Fawkes Day. In 1605, Mr. Fawkes was involved in the Gunpowder Conspiracy in England. When King James 1 began persecuting Catholics a group of protesters formed to take action against the king. Their plan was to blow up Houses of Parliament with the King and his supporters in it. However, the plan was uncovered via an anonymous letter and was stopped. Mr. Fawkes was arrested while guarding the gunpowder in the basement of the Parliament. There were 36 barrels of gunpowder.

Gunpowder Day has also been known as Bonfire Night, Plot Night, and Guy Fawkes Night or Guy Fawkes Day. The Parliament declared November 5 as a day of celebration, as the king was delivered from harm. The day often was celebrated with bonfires and effigies of Mr. Fawkes being thrown into the bonfires. Fireworks also added to the celebration.


GUNPOWDER:
As I'm sure everyone knows, gunpowder is also referred to as black powder  Gunpowder is made up of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate (aka saltpeter). It was first discovered in China when scientists were searching for a way to gain immortality. The discovery of course led to firearms (hence gunpowder) and fireworks. Nowadays, there are more alternatives available for explosions and guns, so gunpowder is not used as much in those applications.


LINKS:
Gunpowder, Wiki
Guy Fawkes Day, Wiki
About.com, gunpowder