Every year on 5th November, people across Britain wrap themselves in far too many layers, head out into the cold and stand around enormous bonfires while fireworks light up the November sky.

It’s Bonfire Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Night, and it’s one of those wonderfully British traditions that can seem rather peculiar when you try to explain it to anyone who didn’t grow up with it.

So why exactly do we celebrate it? Why the fireworks? Why the bonfire? And perhaps most importantly, what are we eating?

REMEMBER, REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER

It all started with a plot, 36 barrels of gunpowder and the Houses of Parliament.

Bonfire Night dates all the way back to 1605 and the Gunpowder Plot, when a group of English Catholics led by Robert Catesby planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament during the State Opening, killing King James I and members of the government.

Guy Fawkes was one of the conspirators and the man tasked with guarding the gunpowder beneath Parliament.

But the plot was discovered.

During the night of 4th November, Fawkes was found in the cellar beneath the House of Lords with matches and 36 barrels of gunpowder nearby. He was arrested and the plan was foiled.

In January 1606, Parliament established 5th November as a day of public thanksgiving, and people began marking the occasion with bonfires. More than 400 years later, the tradition is still going.

BONFIRE NIGHT TODAY

Less political conspiracy. More sparklers, fireworks and trying to keep your hands warm.

For most Brits today, Bonfire Night is simply one of the great autumn traditions.

As darkness falls, local parks, village greens, pubs, sports clubs and back gardens fill with people bundled into coats, hats, scarves and gloves.

There are huge bonfires, firework displays, sparklers for the kids and, traditionally, an effigy of Guy Fawkes placed on top of the fire.

The old childhood tradition of making a “Guy” and asking passers-by for a “penny for the Guy” has largely faded, but plenty of Brits will remember doing it.

And then there’s the smell.

Wood smoke in the air, fireworks going off overhead and something hot cooking nearby.

Because a British Bonfire Night simply isn't complete without food.

BONFIRE NIGHT FOOD

Hot, hearty and preferably something you can eat while wearing gloves.

This is not delicate dinner-party territory.

Bonfire Night food is warming, comforting and made for a cold November evening.

You might also find bowls of chilli, soup, sausage rolls and other easy, warming food designed to feed a crowd.

AND THEN THERE ARE THE BANGERS...

We couldn't write about Bonfire Night without giving them a section of their own.

There is something particularly British about standing outside on a freezing November evening eating a hot sausage from a paper plate.

So this year, we've put together something especially for the occasion.

BRING BONFIRE NIGHT TO AMERICA

You don't necessarily need an enormous bonfire to join in.

If you're a Brit living in America, Bonfire Night is one of those traditions that can suddenly make you feel a very long way from home.

But you can still bring a little bit of it back.

Get the sausages on. Bake a few jacket potatoes. Put the beans on the hob. Find some sparklers, where permitted, wrap up warm and get everyone outside.

And when someone inevitably asks why on earth the British celebrate a failed attempt to blow up Parliament every November...

Well, now you've got the story.