November the Fifth has been celebrated with bonfires and fireworks in England every year for four centuries. It celebrates the failure of the attempt of Guy Fawkes and his friends to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605 at the moment when the entire government, King James I and his wife and elder children would all be present. The burning of an effigy of Guy Fawkes in the back garden or on the public common is the highlight of the annual English bonfire night.