Bonfire Night celebrates the defeat of a conspiracy to blow up the Houses of Parliament with the then King, James I, in it. On 5th November 1605, two years after the death of Queen Elizabeth I, soldiers discovered a man called Guy Fawkes in a cellar under the Houses of Parliament (this was not the present day Houses of Parliament). With him were at least twenty barrels of gunpowder. Guy Fawkes was arrested and after torture told his torturers about a plot to blow up Parliament, together with King James his Ministers and Members of Parliament. Guy Fawkes was a Roman Catholic who had been angered by the failure of King James, who was the son of the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots, to grant more religious toleration to Catholics. He had joined with a group of four other Catholics led by Robert Catesby in a plot to kill the king. Catesby had made the mistake of inviting other Catholics to join the plot. One of these was called Francis Tresham. Tresham wrote a letter to his brother-in-law Lord Monteagle warning him not to go to Parliament on 5 November 1605 and Monteagle told the government. Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators were subsequently sentenced to an agonising death as traitors. In 1606 Parliament then agreed to make 5th November an annual day of public thanksgiving and ever since then the day has been celebrated with fireworks and bonfires. The way of celebrating with a bonfire is related to the ancient festival of Samhain, the Celtic New Year. Bonfires formed an important part of the Celtic New Year celebrations - warding off evil spirits. From November 5th 1606 as part of the public thanksgiving it became the custom light bonfires to ward off the evil influences of Catholics and the Pope. What makes the British Bonfire Night celebrations special is the burning of the guy. Whilst on the surface the guy represents Guy Fawkes it really represents Roman Catholics and the Pope.