What event is memorialized on Guy Fawkes Night?

Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Bonfire Night, is all about remembering a failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. Back then, England was ruled by King James I, a Protestant, and some Catholics were unhappy because they wanted a Catholic monarch. A group of them hatched a plan to assassinate the King by blowing up Parliament during the State Opening. Guy Fawkes was the guy in charge of guarding the explosives – barrels of gunpowder – hidden in the cellars beneath the building. However, the plot was discovered, and Fawkes was arrested on November 5th, 1605, preventing the explosion. So, every year on November 5th, we celebrate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot with bonfires, fireworks, and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes. It's a unique tradition, marking a specific historical event rather than a general remembrance like those for the World Wars.