Guy Fawke’s Night for the year 2023 is celebrated/observed on Saturday, November 5th. There are until the next observance.
Every year on November 5, the United Kingdom commemorates Guy Fawkes’ Night. Every year on this day, people burn bonfires and shoot off fireworks in honor or in defiance of one man—Guy Fawkes. Today marks the 400th anniversary of the failed assassination attempt, and while Guy Fawkes has become the solitary name connected with the conspiracy, he was part of a bigger group of rebels. Guy Fawkes’ Night has lost its religious implications, and it is now more fun than religious. And, owing to popular culture, Fawkes has had a massive, almost mythological image makeover.
📆 When is Guy Fawke’s Night?
This year, Guy Fawke’s Night is on November 5th. It is the 1st Saturday in November; in 2023, it is on Sunday.
→ Did you know: In his youth, he converted to Catholicism and traveled abroad to fight alongside Catholic Spain against Dutch Protestants.
You can also discover all cool things you didn’t know about and facts about November 5, 2022.
📜 History of Guy Fawke’s Night
Outraged by the injustice, a man named Robert Catesby devised a scheme to assassinate the king and his regime. Catesby wanted to sow widespread anarchy in order to restore a Catholic ruler to the English throne. Catesby, along with his cousin, Thomas Wintour, rallied other Catholics to the cause. The initial stage of the strategy was slipping many gunpowder barrels into the Parliament building. Their plan was to blow up the edifice on the first day of parliament, when the monarch and his administration were inside. First, they required an expert to handle the explosives, which they found in a guy named Guy Fawkes.
The conspirators snuck 36 barrels of gunpowder beneath the House of Representatives.
Lords. The gang had rented a vault just beneath the structure. Fawkes stayed to protect the vault on November 4, but the scheme fell apart that night. Lord Monteagle, a Crown-loyal Catholic, received an anonymous letter telling him to avoid the first day of parliament. The letter was delivered to the king, who immediately ordered a thorough search of the premises. A little after midnight, his men discovered Fawkes and the gunpowder barrels. Fawkes was tortured at the Tower of London until he divulged the identities of his co-conspirators. The majority of them had already been apprehended. King James I sentenced Fawkes to death by hanging, but he escaped by jumping off the gallows. Soon after, he died of a fractured neck.
The botched scheme was widely publicized in London. People lit bonfires to commemorate the king’s survival. As a result of these events, Parliament established an annual public holiday, Gunpowder Treason Day, to commemorate the plot’s failure. Guy Fawkes and his legend have developed through time. The success of the 1980s graphic novel “V for Vendetta” altered his reputation from traitor to public idol. Gunpowder Treason Day has replaced Gunpowder Night across the world.
☑️ Guy Fawke’s Night facts
✅ He adopted a new name
Guy changed his name to “Guido” in order to sound more Catholic and continental in Spain.
✅ His alma mater remains loyal
St. Peter’s School in York continues to defy English custom by refusing to burn Guy Fawkes effigies or commemorate the day to this day.
✅ He has an island to his name
Guy Fawkes Island is an uninhabited island in the Galapagos.
✨ Things to do on Guy Fawke’s Night
⚡ Watch a fireworks display
Guy Fawkes Night celebrations are incomplete without fireworks. Attending a fireworks display with loved ones is a wonderful way to celebrate.
⚡ Light a bonfire
Invite relatives and friends to your home for a campfire night. This day is ideal for a relaxing evening of grilling and music.
⚡ Learn more about the power of the mask
The Guy Fawkes mask has become an iconic emblem of public dissatisfaction. Learn about how activists throughout the world have worn masks, from the Occupy Wall Street movement to the Arab Spring.
📅 Guy Fawke’s Night Observances
| YEAR | DATE | DAY |
| 2022 | November 5 | Saturday |
| 2023 | November 5 | Sunday |
| 2024 | November 5 | Tuesday |
| 2025 | November 5 | Wednesday |
| 2026 | November 5 | Thursday |
See all November holidays, including Special Interest and other Awareness holidays.
We will continue to update this page with new information and interesting facts about Guy Fawke’s Night. So be sure to check back soon.