The object traditionally lit and burned at Guy Fawkes Night gatherings is a bonfire.
Bonfires are central to the 5 November observance, which commemorates the failure of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. After Guy Fawkes was discovered guarding explosives beneath the House of Lords, Londoners were encouraged to mark King James I’s survival with celebratory fires. Parliament later established 5 November as an annual day of thanksgiving.
The bonfire is often accompanied by fireworks and, in some places, the burning of an effigy known as a “Guy.” These are separate traditions: the bonfire is the large communal fire, while the Guy is a human-shaped figure traditionally made from old clothes and stuffing. The festival’s modern emphasis is usually entertainment rather than its original religious and political message.
A yule log belongs to Christmas customs, and a maypole is associated with spring and May celebrations. A beacon is a signal fire, not the characteristic object of Guy Fawkes Night. Safety rules and organized public displays have increasingly replaced informal neighborhood fires.