[custom_adv] to some, Bonfire Night represents an excuse to set off some fireworks. But it is perhaps in the south east of England that memories of Guy Fawkes and his failed bid to blow up King James I burn brightest. [custom_adv] The festivities are about far more than one night though. The Sussex Bonfire season starts on the first weekend of September and ends in the third week of November. [custom_adv] Bonfire societies from towns around Sussex and the western edges of Kent capitalise on the fact the events are staggered across several weeks to take part in each other's parades and the biggest nights attract crowds of several thousand. [custom_adv] Flaming torches, costumes and effigies of celebrities are as much a part of the spectacle as fireworks and the almost cult-like Bonfire season is a key part of the calendar in a manner that may seem bizarre to those elsewhere in the country. [custom_adv] But why is it such a big deal?The parade in Hastings always falls on a Saturday around 14 October, the date of the Battle of Hastings in 1066.But the biggest event takes place in Lewes, the county town of East Sussex, and is always held on 5 November. [custom_adv] Bonfire night celebrations are underway across Britain this evening, as hundreds gather to mark Guy Fawkes' failed gunpowder plot to blow up Parliament. [custom_adv] The streets of Lewes are alight with fire and celebration as pavements through the historic East Sussex town are packed with spectators. [custom_adv] Among the centrepieces of the annual festival are the controversial effigies, which often take the form of well-known politicians and celebrities. [custom_adv] In 2018 a giant portrayal of Boris Johnson holding an axe and Theresa May's severed head was set on fire. An effigy of Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg is set to be torched at this year's annual parade [custom_adv] While in Skinningrove, North Yorkshire a 'Greatest Showman' themed bonfire was set alight in tribute to North Skelton ironstone miner Harry Cooper who was born locally in 1853 after being spotted by PT Barnum. [custom_adv] And in Ottery St Mary, Devon the traditional burning tar barrels are carried through the streets on the backs of locals who pass the flaming objects from person to person. [custom_adv] The celebrations take their name from Guy Fawkes - the ringleader of the Catholic plot designed to assassinate the Protestant King James I and replace him with a Catholic. [custom_adv] It has been celebrated each year ever since, with communities marking it with fireworks and lighting bonfires which they burn a Guy on.
