6 ways Bonfire Night is the weirdest tradition

Katie Hall on 30 October 2017
crowd gathered watching a fireworks display

Remember, remember the 5th of November, gunpowder treason and plot...every year we honour this tradition, whether it makes sense or not!

We hear you, we're not quite sure how November is already nearly upon us either. But it is, and that means Bonfire Night is here! But before you grab all your friends and housemates to discover what Guy Fawkes Night celebrations your uni town or city has to offer, why not check out the 6 ways in which Bonfire Night is the weirdest tradition (according to one of our team, anyway!)

Brrrrrrrrr

Game of Thrones Gif. Close-up of a frozen man's face in a frozen hood in a snow storm

Source: Giphy

We all stand outside on a freezing cold November night just to watch big explosions in the sky (albeit very pretty big explosions).

Bye-brow

Gif. Jake Gyllenhaal covering his eyebrows with his fingers and looking around nervously.

Source: Giphy

We build a huge pile of wood and set it alight. Then we all stand around it to watch it burn (while it takes our eyebrows, and often a little of the skin from our faces, with it.)

The Grudge

Gif. Close up of scary girl's face in The Grudge

Source: Giphy

On this big fire that we seem to find so fascinating, we also throw effigies, made of straw and old clothes, of the man who was caught attempting to blow up parliament 412 YEARS AGO. If that’s not the most impressive grudge in history, I’m not sure what is.

Safety first

Beasts of the Southern Wild Gif. Little girl running across grass holding huge sparklers in each hand

Source: Giphy

We hand small children sticks that we light on fire and we encourage them to wave said burning stick all over the place to make pretty patterns with the sparks it spits out. That sounds totally safe and not at all like a fire hazard...

Danger zone

X Files gif. Man saying "We've never been in more danger"

Source: Giphy

The braver (or more stupid, depending on how you look at it) among us attempt to hold our own fireworks displays in our back gardens, in a tiny space surrounded by wooden fences. Look at that pathetic little Catherine Wheel go while we all run to watch from inside out of fear that the sparks jump two centimetres across the cramped garden and set us alight.

Us, sarcastic?

Austin Powers Gif. Dr Evil saying 'Right...' sarcastically

Source: Giphy

And finally, the strangest, and possibly our favourite, thing of all about this popular tradition? We’re celebrating Parliament not being blown up...by blowing stuff up! It’s the ultimate homage to that beloved British sarcasm and sense of irony; Fawkes and his conspirators failed in their treasonous quest, so every year we make a mockery out of them with our bonfires and fireworks...and we love it!

Do you enjoy Bonfire Night? Join the Student Hut Community and let us know in our paid opinion panels.

Katie Hall
Katie Hall on 30 October 2017