# Guy Fawkes Day Tradition: Making Kids Carry Flaming Barrels of Tar **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 2, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-fawkes-day-tradition-making-kids-carry-flaming-barrels-of-tar/608152 "2012-01-02T16:25:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-fawkes-day-tradition-making-kids-carry-flaming-barrels-of-tar/608152/1 "2012-01-02T16:25:23Z")
_TL;DR: Is there really a tradition in England of making young boys carry flaming barrels of tar through the town square? And if so, how is that legal?_ Last night I was watching TruTV Presents World’s Dumbest. One of the clips took place in England on Guy Fawkes Day. I couldn’t tell if this was a country-wide tradition, or just specific to the local village where the clip took place, but the tradition seemed to involve filling barrels with tar, setting them on fire, then making boys of about 12 run a sort-of relay race carrying flaming barrels through the town square. The boys seemed to be wearing protective gear (if layers and layers of clothes counts as protective gear), and they seemed to be honored to be a part of it; although by their faces a couple of them did look rather terrified. Is this a tradition all over England, or just specific to this town? And don’t the authorities in England take kind of a dim view of making kids carry flaming barrels through town? Or is the whole thing considered some kind of big honor and the boys are proud to be a part of it? ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-fawkes-day-tradition-making-kids-carry-flaming-barrels-of-tar/608152/2 "2012-01-02T16:40:15Z")
It’s probably specific to Lewes. This is also done in the Orkney Islands (at the New Year) and seems to be connected to older, pagan religious rituals ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-fawkes-day-tradition-making-kids-carry-flaming-barrels-of-tar/608152/3 "2012-01-02T16:50:37Z")
It’s not an England-wide thing, no. I’m pretty sure they do it in Lewes, which has a reputation to keep up as home of over-the-top and slightly weird Guy Fawkes celebrations. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-fawkes-day-tradition-making-kids-carry-flaming-barrels-of-tar/608152/4 "2012-01-02T16:58:50Z")
I doubt that they’re “made” to do it, unless you count peer pressure - you’re probably a wuss if you refuse. They seem to have a lot of jollifications around Guy Fawkes Day, mostly involving burning stuff: > **[Lewes Bonfire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewes_Bonfire)** > > Lewes Bonfire, or Bonfire for short, describes a set of celebrations held in the town of Lewes in Sussex, England, that constitute the United Kingdom's largest and most famous Bonfire Night festivities, with Lewes being called the bonfire capital of the world. > Always held on 5 November (unless the 5th falls on a Sunday, in which case it is held on Saturday the 4th), the event not only marks Guy Fawkes Night – the date of the uncovering of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 – but also commemorates the... > [@](#): > > There are six societies putting on five separate parades and firework displays on the 5th, and this can mean 3,000 people taking part in the celebrations, and up to 80,000 spectators attending in the small market town with a permanent population of just under 16,000. It’s the “procession of the martyrs’ crosses” which might give Americans pause: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3170/2590636160_9f77cc8708_b.jpg "Burning crosses, Lewes bonfire night") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/ec1jack/2590636160/)