I started a thread like this on the old board in anticipation of using it loads of times to help me with my fanfiction... and ended up using it once. Oh well. Maybe this one will get to see more action.

This time, it's not so much a do-they-have. I know there's no Bonfire/Guy Fawkes Night in the US. What I wonder about is how much the average American knows about what we English get up to after dark on the fifth of November (for optimum enjoyment of my upcoming story, assuming it works out this time, if you don't know, you'd do better not to try to find out).

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'Extreme Ghostbusters was the best-written show, because it wasn't just about the ghostbusting, it was about the characters.' - Rino Romano

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The average American's eyes would glaze over if you mention Guy Fawkes. You might get a little traction if you mention "That mask the guy in V For Vendetta wore was based on Guy Fawkes" but that's about it.

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If you said Guy Fawkes Day I would know not a lot but I would know . I will say that the movie did help cement in the day it happens




my be burning man

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pleas parden my speling but I'm a littel dislexik and can't tipe whel

He's the equivalent of Benedict Arnold or Independence Day, but called Bonfire Night. I knew about him before the film opened. Tell me they don't sing about tarring & feathering the Pope b/c that might upset some people here.

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Tonight you will be visited by 3 ghostbusters.

'Course not. That would upset a lot of people in the UK too. I think you'll find that my country, whatever its faults, is not in the habit of holding national festivals that target religious groups.

Like I say, it's good that you don't know. I want you to go into the story blind.

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'Extreme Ghostbusters was the best-written show, because it wasn't just about the ghostbusting, it was about the characters.' - Rino Romano

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EGB Fan on FFN and AO3

I gather from watching Friends and Sex and the City (extremely reliable sources ) that one can get married absolutely anywhere in New York, and it doesn't need to be licensed or anything. Is that right?

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'Extreme Ghostbusters was the best-written show, because it wasn't just about the ghostbusting, it was about the characters.' - Rino Romano

EGB Fan's EGB Fans
EGB Fan on FFN and AO3

Well, if TV said it, it must be true, right?

Realistically, I doubt it. I'd be just about sure it takes a cleric/priest or judge, a witness or two, and some kind of paperwork filed with the state to be legally recognized. I don't see how it wouldn't take at least that.

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Ha!

Truth is, like Fritz said, a priest (or any chosen ordained religious official) or a magistrate of the city or state needs to oversee the union. On top of that, the marriage needs to be recorded for public records, and regardless of religion, that requires a trip to the the county courthouse or records bureau. Considering how many of those buildings are actually in a city of about 20 million people, Friends and Sex in the City does have at least a shred of accuracy.

There is one other type of marriage that a state will recognize. Those who've been together for seven years under the same roof can claim what's called "commonlaw marriage."