Today, in the UK, we commemorate James I’s lucky escape after Guy Fawkes was caught red-handed with rather a lot of gunpowder in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament on the night of the 4th/5th November 1605.

We are not just celebrating James’s lucky escape, we are also, as the poem goes, remembering the serious nature of the crime, treason:-

“Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t’was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli’ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England’s overthrow;
By God’s providence he was catch’d
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King (or Queen)!”

You can read more about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot in the following articles:-