"Remember, Remember the 5th of November..."

November 5th was a day of cultural celebration for me.

The night began with the Indian Diwali Festival of Lights. Diwali includes the lighting of small clay lamps which signifies the triumph of good over evil.

My roommate, Aarti, is Indian and has introduced us to many wonderful Indian customs and festivals. The Indian club here at BYU put on this celebration that included a fashion show of Indian outfits (Aarti looked gorgeous in her Sari), Indian Food, Henna, and of course Bollywood Dancing!

Aarti outfitted us from her own trove of Indian clothes 

One thing I love about Indian style it is so bright and colorful. Not to mention, these outfits were super super comfortable!

Aarti even gave us all bindis to put on our foreheads. The bindi represents the third eye and is a spiritual point of energy for Hindus. It is also a mark to protect against bad luck.

I had to leave the Indian Festival a bit early in order to celebrate another cultural festival.

GUY FAWKES DAY!

For those of you who do not know... Guy Fawkes was a Catholic who plotted to blow up the Parliament building with the current protestant King of England inside. This plan failed and Fawkes was executed for his attempted assassination. On November 5th 1605, Londoners lit bonfires to celebrate the King's escape. Since then, November 5th has been celebrated with bonfires and fireworks all over Britain. Typically Brits will burn effigies of Guy Fawkes.

A girl on my Study Abroad happens to be a direct descendant of Guy Fawkes, so she decided to hold a Guy Fawkes Day Bonfire for all of us Londoners to celebrate together.

We had someone read T.S. Elliot's "The Hollow Men" out loud and then Hannah Faux (Guy's descendant) gave a short speech.

Our larger than life sized Guy Fawkes awaiting his doom!

Part of  Hannah's speech included finishing what her ancestor could not. This is a model of the Parliament buildings made out of Popsicle sticks.

Finally, It was Guy Fawkes' turn. Since he is made purely of newspaper, he made quite a conflagration.



It was a huge bonfire!

Of course what is a bonfire without s'mores? The whole evening was culturally delicious. Thank you India and Britain for making my typically boring November 5th something to remember!