GUY FAWKES DAY

“Society exists for the benefit of its members, not the members for the benefit of society.” - Herbert Spencer
 
Today is the Cry of Independence Day in El Salvador; Liberty Day in the US Virgin Islands; Guy Fawkes’ Day in England; and is also a Dismal Day.
 
It is the anniversary of the birthday of:
Ida Tarbell, writer (1857);
Raymond Duchamp-Villon, artist (1876);
Will Durant, writer (1885);
Joel McCrea, actor (1905);
Roy Rogers, actor (1912);
Vivien Leigh (Vivian Mary Hartley), actress (1913);
Art Garfunkel, singer (1942);
Elke Sommer, actress (1942);
Sam Shepard, playwright (1943);
Andrea McArdle, actress (1963);
Tatum O’ Neal, US actress (1963).
 
The silver wattle (mimosa), Acacia decurrens dealbata, is the flower for today’s birthdays.  It symbolises sensitivity, exquisiteness and fastidiousness. Some people consider it unlucky to bring this fragrant flower into the house.
 
Please to remember
The Fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot;
I see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
 
‘Twas God’s mercy to be sent
To save our King and Parliament
Three score barrels laid below,
For old England’s overthrow
With a lighted candle, with a lighted match
Boom, boom to let him in.
              Anonymous Hertfordshire Rhyme
 
In England, Guy Fawkes Night (also called Bonfire Night and Firework Night) is an annual celebration observed on November 5 for more than 400 years following the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 when 13 conspirators planned to blow up Parliament and kill King James I.
 
Guy Fawkes was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. People in London lit bonfires to celebrate the failure of the plot, and an act of Parliament was passed to appoint the date as a day of thanksgiving for the “joyful deliverance of James I”. This act remained in force for 254 years, until 1859.