Bonfire Night 2018: When is it and what is Guy Fawkes’ gunpowder plot?

Sandwiched in between Halloween and Christmas, Bonfire Night lets us know we're edging ever-closer to the festive season.

With events happening across the capital this November 5, you can expect some spectacular firework displays.

We all know the ditty "remember, remember the fifth of November" - but why do celebrate this day?

Here's everything you need to know about Bonfire Night and why it's celebrated.

What is Bonfire Night?

Every year people gather around in early November to celebrate Bonfire Night across the UK.

There are firework displays in public parks across the country and people light bonfires with an effigy to represent historical figure Guy Fawkes.

This quintessentially British activity each year refers to an event which could have changed the course of British history almost 400 years ago.

When is it?

This year Bonfire Night falls on a Sunday, but every year it is celebrated on November 5.

What year was Guy Fawkes’s Gunpowder Plot and why do we celebrate it?

In 1605, a group of Roman Catholic activists arranged their Gunpowder Plot, but it failed. At the time, King James I reigned over a Protestant England the group wanted the freedom to practise their religion. Guy Fawkes, an explosives expert, along with the rest of the group plotted to assassinate King James and blow up the Palace of Westminster during the state opening of Parliament. Fawkes smuggled 36 barrels under the House of Lords into a cellar. However, he was caught and sent to the Tower of London, tortured to give up the names of his co-conspirators and then executed in January 1606 for high treason.

Throughout the years, countries belonging to the British Empire also celebrated his failure to blow up Parliament, but it is still a long-standing tradition to honour this day.

If this isn't enough to get you in the mood to celebrate, tune into BBC's latest drama Gunpowder and watch dreamy Kit Harrington portray Guy Fawkes and watch the events unfold.