Remember, remember the merciless oppression of Catholics in 17th century England

 It never fails to amaze me the weird duality of Guy Fawkes Day/Night. From the Wikipedia article:

"Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in the United Kingdom. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605 O.S., when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. Celebrating the fact that King James I had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London; and months later, the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure".

The impetus behind the gunpowder plot had to do with the persecution of Catholics in England. You'll recall that the Protestant Reformation was either caused by or resulted in Henry the 8th's divorce from Catherine of Aragon, and things got pretty rough for Catholics for quite awhile after that. This is not to say that the Catholic church wasn't guilt of a lot of heinous fuckery - and indeed they still are - but your average Catholic on the street was taking quite a beating due to the schism between the Protestants and the Catholics, and our boys involved in the Gunpowder Plot (of whom Guy Fawkes was a relative bit player) had had enough. I'm not going to postulate on what the world would be like if the plot had succeeded, but one would imagine that things would have gotten WAY worse for Catholics, rather than better.

But back to the weird duality. So we know what the gunpowder plot was and why Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated, but why has his image become synonymous with opposition to authority and promotion of anarchy? He's no longer seen as a traitor, but as a symbol of resistance to oppression. This may or may not have started with the 1980's comic (and subsequent movie) V for Vendetta, but regardless Fawkes' transformation from papist traitor to anarchist poster boy is one of those weird things that happen in history.

And you know how I like my weird.