Guy Fawkes: Who Is This Guy, Anyway?

A Penny for the Guy
The intended victim of the plot, King James, created a holiday from its failure: he turned the existing custom of celebrating a monarch's accession with nationwide bonfires into an annual event on Nov. 5. Even though the law creating the holiday was repealed in 1859, the tradition remains to this day. One of its most famous phrases is associated with youngsters standing beside homemade effigies of Guy Fawkes, demanding, "A penny for the Guy!"

• Guy Fawkes Day: What Does It Mean?