14 things to know about Bastille Day...
1. Bastille Day is the French National holiday.
2. It is commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison, which took place on 14 July 1789 and marked the beginning of the French Revolution. So the holiday is celebrated annually on July 14th...
3. ...but if the 15th is a business day, many cities set off their fireworks on the eve of the 14th - like the ones going off right now!
4. ...and if the 14th falls near a weekend, many businesses close for an extra day to give employees a nice, long weekend. (And at this point I'd like to thank Isa for suggesting our office follow this wonderful French tradition.) This day-off-to-form-a-long-weekend is called making le pont (literally, 'a bridge').
(c) JP Houel
5. The Bastille prison was a symbol of the absolute and somewhat moody power of King Louis the 16th. By overtaking this symbol, the French people signaled the end of the King's power - power would be based on the Nation and be limited by a separation of powers. (See? It is an independence day as well. Just not the same as ours.)
6. It is not, under any circumstances, to be called 'The French Fourth of July'. Unless, of course, you're okay with us calling July 4th 'The American July Fourteenth'.
7. Calling it 'Bastille Day' is actually more American than French. Here, we just call it le quatorze juillet. You guessed it. That means the 14th of July.
8. The blue, white, and red French flag that we know today actually came into use during the French Revolution. (Note: It is 'blue, white, and red' and not 'red, white and blue'.)
9. The three colors represent the Republic's three ideals: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.
10. Traditionally the president used to give an interview to members of the press, discussing the situation of the country, recent events and projects for the future. Nicolas Sarkozy, president since 2007, has chosen not to give it. What a rebel.
11. Bastille Day falls during the Tour de France. Of course, on this day French riders try to take a stage victory for France.
12. Contrary to the belief of some, the fireworks are not to celebrate Jesse's birthday. But we still want to wish him a joyeux anniversaire!
13. Three other countries hold official Bastille Day celebrations: the US, South Africa and Hungary. We attended the festivities in Hungary two years ago. What a nagy fél!
14. To wish someone a happy quatorze juillet, you can say, "Bonne fête !"
2. It is commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison, which took place on 14 July 1789 and marked the beginning of the French Revolution. So the holiday is celebrated annually on July 14th...
3. ...but if the 15th is a business day, many cities set off their fireworks on the eve of the 14th - like the ones going off right now!
4. ...and if the 14th falls near a weekend, many businesses close for an extra day to give employees a nice, long weekend. (And at this point I'd like to thank Isa for suggesting our office follow this wonderful French tradition.) This day-off-to-form-a-long-weekend is called making le pont (literally, 'a bridge').
(c) JP Houel
5. The Bastille prison was a symbol of the absolute and somewhat moody power of King Louis the 16th. By overtaking this symbol, the French people signaled the end of the King's power - power would be based on the Nation and be limited by a separation of powers. (See? It is an independence day as well. Just not the same as ours.)
6. It is not, under any circumstances, to be called 'The French Fourth of July'. Unless, of course, you're okay with us calling July 4th 'The American July Fourteenth'.
7. Calling it 'Bastille Day' is actually more American than French. Here, we just call it le quatorze juillet. You guessed it. That means the 14th of July.
8. The blue, white, and red French flag that we know today actually came into use during the French Revolution. (Note: It is 'blue, white, and red' and not 'red, white and blue'.)9. The three colors represent the Republic's three ideals: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.
10. Traditionally the president used to give an interview to members of the press, discussing the situation of the country, recent events and projects for the future. Nicolas Sarkozy, president since 2007, has chosen not to give it. What a rebel.
11. Bastille Day falls during the Tour de France. Of course, on this day French riders try to take a stage victory for France.
12. Contrary to the belief of some, the fireworks are not to celebrate Jesse's birthday. But we still want to wish him a joyeux anniversaire!
13. Three other countries hold official Bastille Day celebrations: the US, South Africa and Hungary. We attended the festivities in Hungary two years ago. What a nagy fél!
14. To wish someone a happy quatorze juillet, you can say, "Bonne fête !"
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9 comments:
Bonne fête! (Weeee...I did the little thingy on top of the e!)
Very informational. Unfortunately if I did the same kind of post for July 4 on my blog, people would see it as condescending, I think. I mean, duh, it's the day the invented fireworks, right? ;)
I love your cultural lessons! Thank you for sharing another slice of your French life.
-Janey
nice shout out for jesse :) enjoy the fireworks in his honor . . .
Ah yes...our family remembers Bastille Day well. Only because it is the same day as Jesse's birthday, and because (for many years) we celebrated it in the corn fields, right kids? Papa always made a point to note Jesse's birthday was on Bastille Day. Happy birthday, Jesse. Love you!
Mom
Thanks for the history lesson. Very informative--I leared a lot! It makes the loud fireworks I heard into the very wee hours of the morning a little more bearable...
I'm glad you did this post. My friend on gmail had "Bastille Day" as her status and I wondered what it was. Rather than attempting to google it and find the answer in .23 seconds, I was lazy. So thank you for informing me.
Bonne fete and joyeux anniversaire to Jessie :-) I had learned this about a million years ago on French class but had forgotten it all.
We strolled through the Hungarian Bastille Day celebration over the weekend. Wasn't as much fun without you.
Dad/Glenn
Petite correction, les couleurs du drapeau français ne représentent pas la devise "liberté, égalité, fraternité".
Officiellement : bleu et rouge sont les couleurs de Paris, le blanc la "couleur" du Roi.
http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/france_829/institutions-vie-politique_19079/symboles-republique-14-juillet_2615/drapeau-francais_5157.html
Les couleurs de Paris seraient celles des rois carolingiens (rouge) et des rois capétiens (bleu).
Donc le drapeau français est composé des couleurs de différentes dynasties royales.
Paradoxal pour un pays qui a mis à bas la monarchie.
Typiquement français !
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