Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot. We see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot. — Nursery rhyme

Indeed, the infamous Gunpowder Plot of November 5, 1605 is a story which has survived the test of time, and still captures the imagination of students of British history, both in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

Traditions associated with this date include lighting bonfires on which effigies of the traitor and conspirator Guy Fawkes are burned.

In Britain, children can often be seen ahead of time with an Fawkes effigy, calling out 'A penny for the Guy', and using the money donated by passers-by to purchase fireworks.

Many, many generations of Bermudians have celebrated November 5 with bonfires and fireworks down through time.

In the run-up to the date, children have had fun assembling scrap wood and dried garden refuse for the bonfire, and making effigies of Guy Fawkes out of old clothing, to burn atop the flaming pile.

Then, on the night, friends and family gather around the roaring fire, eating sweet potato pudding and toasting marshmallows on sticks in the glowing embers. Before fireworks were banned, these were also an integral part of the commemoration, with safe, hand-held sparklers being particularly popular with children.

While many older Bermudians happily remember celebrating Guy Fawkes Night, and all the fun they had, many of today's children are not even familiar with the history of the Gunpowder Plot, and the commemorative traditions, because they are not generally taught in the schools.

Nonetheless, there are still Bermudians who happily continue to uphold the November 5 traditions, while others would like to but cannot because neighbourhoods and properties no longer have the open space on which to build bonfires, and private possession of fireworks continues to be banned, thanks to their abuse by hooligans decades ago.

In 2005, Minister of Culture and Social Rehabilitation Dale Butler, treated seniors to a Guy Fawkes luncheon, complete with sweet potato pudding, at the then-La Coquille restaurant, and last year, as the finale to its 'Fun in the Old Town' event, the St. George's Foundation hosted a bonfire.

This year, there will be a Bonfire Night on Fort St. Catherine beach, albeit on Saturday night, November 8.

The event will begin at 6 p.m., with fireworks at 8.30 p.m. Admission is free, and refreshments will be available. For further information telephone 297-8043.

What exactly is so momentous about an event which happened 402 years ago that makes it so faithfully observed by so many today?

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was an attempt by Guy Fawkes, Robert Catesby, Thomas Percy, Thomas Wintour and Christopher Wright to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London.

During the reign of Elizabeth I, English Catholics were so persecuted that when the Queen died and James I succeeded her, they hoped that, because the new monarch's mother was Catholic, their religion would find greater tolerance.

Unfortunately, it wasn't, so a group of young men decided that the only way to make progress was through violence.

Thus it was that what became known as the Gunpowder Plot was hatched, the rationale being that if they blew up Parliament, killing the King and the Members of Parliament in the process, they would eliminate those whom they perceived were standing in the way of progress for English Catholics.

So, in the Spring of 1605, the conspirators rented a cellar beneath the House of Lords and filled it with 36 barrels of gunpowder, which they hid under iron bars and bundles of sticks.

In August, Guy Fawkes returned from Flanders in Belgium and visited the cellar to check on the gunpowder.

The plotters met again on October 18 and discussed how Catholic peers might be spared death in the impending deadly explosion. An anonymous letter, subsequently known as the 'Monteagle Letter', was written to the fourth Baron Monteagle warning him not to attend Parliament on November 5.

When its contents became known, the nefarious group was naturally concerned but reasoned that its terms were sufficiently vague to allow the plot to go ahead.

Quick exit plans from London were drawn up, and it was decided that Guy Fawkes would light a slow fuse which would give him sufficient time to escape from the scene of the crime.

On November 4, the Lord Chamberlain, Thomas Howard, led a search party through the cellars of Parliament, during which they discovered Guy Fawkes, and duly reported their findings to King James I.

Meanwhile, Fawkes left the cellar to find Thomas Percy and warn him of what had taken place, and then he returned.

During the early hours of November 5, the Lord Chamberlain elected to conduct a second search, during which Fawkes was found with slow matches and torchwood, and promptly arrested.

King James was among those who interrogated the man, who maintained he was 'John Johnson, Thomas Percy's servant', and duly gave his Royal blessing for the only son of Edward and Edith Fawkes to be tortured.

"God speede youre worke," the monarch told the interrogators.

On November 7 the prisoner finally confessed that he was indeed Guy Fawkes, and named five of his co-conspirators.

On November 8 he named the rest. The conspirators' trial began on January 27, 1606.

Three days later, Guy Fawkes was taken to the Old Palace Yard in Westminster and executed. His fellow conspirators met a similar fate the same day.

Meanwhile, on November 5, 1605, when word of the foiled gunpowder plot reached the citizenry, they lit bonfires in celebration of the Monarch's safety.

Since then, the date has been known as 'Bonfire Night', with fireworks and effigies of Guy Fawkes burned in commemoration.