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{{short description|Annual event dedicated to bonfires, fireworks and celebrations}}{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}{{bots|deny=Citation bot}}{{about|traditions of bonfire celebrations}}File:Bonfire on Mississippi River levee St. James Parish Louisiana.jpg|thumb|A Christmas Eve celebration bonfire in LouisianaLouisianaBonfire Night is a name given to various annual events characterised by bonfires and fireworks.{{citation |last=Rawlinson |first=Kevin |title=Guy Fawkes vs Diwali: Battle of Bonfire Night |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/guy-fawkes-vs-diwali-battle-of-bonfire-night-2125672.html |work=independent.co.uk | date=5 November 2010 |accessdate=22 March 2011}} The event celebrates different traditions on different dates, depending on the country. Some of the most popular instances include Guy Fawkes Night (5 November) in Great Britain, which is also celebrated in some Commonwealth countries; Northern Ireland's Eleventh Night (11 July), and 5 November in Newfoundland and Labrador. In various parts of Ireland, Bonfire Nights are held on Saint John's Eve (23 June),WEB,weblink 15,000 to attend family friendly bonfires tonight, 23 June 2017, Irishexaminer.com, 21 December 2019, Bealtaine eve (30 April)WEB,weblink Two firefighters injured by mobs while extinguishing May Eve bonfires, David, Raleigh, The Irish Times, 21 December 2019, and Halloween (31 October). Due to the Thanksgiving Act, up until 1859 celebration of Guy Fawkes Night in the UK was legally mandated, which evolved into the Bonfire Night of today.In Scandinavia and Germany it is known as Walpurgis Night or ″Tanz in den Mai″ (30 April) and in Denmark and Norway also sankthansaften (23 June). In Finland bonfires are lit on the eve of Juhannus (Friday between 19 and 25 June). Saint John's Eve is also a very important celebration in Spain and Northern Portugal. Several other cultures also include night-time celebrations involving bonfires and/or fireworks.Bonfire Night is also celebrated in Northern Ireland on 15 August in Catholic communities to mark the Feast of the Assumption.BOOK, Santino, J.,weblink Signs of War and Peace: Social Conflict and the Uses of Symbols in Public in Northern Ireland, 2016, Springer, 978-1-4039-8233-9,

Significance

In Great Britain, Bonfire Night is associated with the tradition of celebrating the failure of Guy Fawkes' actions on 5 November 1605.NEWS, Walters, Guy, 1 November 2011, Is it anti-Catholic to celebrate Guy Fawkes' Night?, The Daily Telegraph,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20101104000649weblink">weblink dead, 4 November 2010, Guy Fawkes' Nights – which are, after all, more commonly just called Bonfire or Firework Nights, ) The British festival is, therefore, on 5 November, although some commercially driven events are held at a weekend near to the correct date, to maximise attendance. Bonfire night's sectarian significance has generally been lost: it is now usually just a night of revelry with a bonfire and fireworks, although an effigy of Guy Fawkes is burned on the fire. Celebrations are held throughout Great Britain; in some non-Catholic communities in Northern Ireland;WEB,weblink How is Guy Fawkes Night Celebrated in Ireland?, TripSavvy.com, 21 December 2019, and in some other parts of the Commonwealth. In many areas of the UK, celebrations also feature funfairs, family entertainment, and special food and drinks.WEB,weblink Bonfire Night: London fireworks displays, Visitlondon.com, 21 December 2019, In the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, 5 November is commemorated with bonfires and firework displays,WEB, Public asked to keep environment in mind on Guy Fawkes night,weblink Government of Newfoundland, 4 November 2005, 23 March 2011, and it is officially celebrated in South Africa.JOURNAL, Guy Fawkes Day in Cape Town,weblink Cape Town Magazine, 23 March 2011, In Northern Ireland, the term "Bonfire Night" can refer to the Eleventh Night celebrations of 11 July. Like 5 November, this Bonfire Night also has its roots in the sectarian struggle between Protestants and Catholics. Unlike 5 November the sectarian significance of 11 July is still strong. It celebrates the Battle of the Boyne of 1690, in which the Protestant William of Orange defeated the Catholic James II.NEWS, Bonfire repair bill revealed,weblink BBC News, 27 May 2011, 15 July 2003, In the city of Cork and many rural parts of the Republic of Ireland "Bonfire Night" refers to 23 June, Saint John's Eve night. It has its origins in a religious celebration and originally featured prayers for bountiful crops.The night is linked to the summer solstice or Midsummer's Eve. Originally fires were lit to honour the goddess Áine as part of a Celtic celebration; the Catholic Church took over the pagan festival and linked it to the birth of St John.NEWS, Ryan, Órla, 23 June 2015, Why will lots of bonfires be lit across the country tonight?,weblink TheJournal.ie, 2 June 2016, WEB, Haggerty, Bridget, St. John's Eve in old Ireland,weblink Irish Culture and Customs, In the city of Limerick, "Bonfire Night" is held on May Eve, 30 April, on the eve of the Celtic festival of Bealtaine.

Social impact

Bonfire celebrations can pose a risk to public safety due to the possibility of fires, injuries, or fights. For example, in London, calls to firefighting services are nearly tripled on Bonfire Night.NEWS, Evans, Martin, Bonfire Night strikes: Prime Minister condemns firefighters' threat,weblink 18 May 2011, The Telegraph, 26 October 2010, In Belfast, the July 2003 Eleventh Night resulted in £10,000 worth of damage to a park. The use of fireworks may lead to dangerous pyrotechnic incidents. In parts of the Caribbean, laws banning fireworks and explosives have muted the occasion,NEWS,weblink Exploding Fireworks Being Mistaken for Gunfire, Brooks, Sheena, 29 October 2010, The St Kitts-Nevis Observer, 9 November 2010,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110723102605weblink">weblink 23 July 2011, dead, and safety concerns in New Zealand have resulted in restrictions on fireworks use, although public firework displays remain popular there.NEWS, Gaffaney, C.,weblink Auckland's new Guy Fawkes restrictions kick in, New Zealand Herald, 31 October 2014, The tradition of Bonfire Night has been criticised for its environmental impact. A 1994 study conducted in Oxford, England, found a four-fold increase in dioxin and furan concentration in the air after a Bonfire Night celebration.JOURNAL, Dyke, P., Coleman, P., James, Ray, Dioxins in ambient air, bonfire night 1994, Chemosphere, 4 March 1997, 34, 5–7, 1191–1201, 10.1016/S0045-6535(97)00418-9, In 2005 a Bonfire Night in Newfoundland prompted the provincial Minister of Environment and Conservation to remind the general public of their responsibilities for safety and the environment.WEB,weblink Public asked to keep environment in mind on Guy Fawkes night, Releases.gov.nl.ca, 21 December 2019,

Food

There are many food items that are associated with Bonfire Night. Toffee apples, treacle toffee, black peas and parkin, and even the jacket potato, are traditionally eaten around Bonfire Night in parts of England.WEB,weblink A Northern Bonfire Night treat, Wilson, C, BBC, 11 March 2015, NEWS,weblink Get parched: an old favourite makes for a tasty Bonfire Night dish, Daily Post, Liverpool, Heathcote, P, 4 November 2011, {{dl|date=July 2021}}WEB, Traditional Bonfire Night Food,weblink Bonfire Night and Guy Fawkes Traditions, 7 December 2015, en-US, 16 April 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160416153458weblink">weblink dead, Also, some families eat soups to warm up on a cold night and toast marshmallows over the fire.WEB,weblink Bonfire Night 2019 in London - Dates & Map, Rove.me, 21 December 2019,

References

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