Thursday, July 14, 2011

Happy Bastille Day!

Happy Bastille Day!

Bastille Day is the French National Day which is celebrated on July 14 of each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale (The National Celebration) and commonly le quatorze juillet (the fourteenth of July). It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. The anniversary of the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation - and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy that preceded the First Republic during the French Revolution.

I hope my readers and friends from France have a wonderful day! We'll be celebrating your Independence Day with you.

Photo courtesy of cafleurebon.com

5 comments:

Clarisse said...

Thank you so much, Charlestongirl for your wishes, its' most kind. Yes Bastille Day or "le 14 juillet" as we call it here is a great symbol and very popular one. In the morning there are military parades in every town or even village, picnics if the weather is fine and, in the evening popular balls in the center city and later fireworks! It reminds me of my child days when I was happy to attend the parade with my father, go to picnics, and enjoy swirling around with my family in the evening and then admire the fireworks display....Now I enjoy the celebrations from home!

Eileen said...

Liberté, égalité, fraternité! Ce sont les mots qui inspirent les rêves des hommes--et des femmes, bien sûr ;-)

Joyeux Quatorze Juillet!

Clarisse said...

Merci beaucoup, Eileen, tu es adorable comme toujours :-)

Charlestongirl said...

Hi Eileen,

What a lovely comment! With a little help from Google Translate, I read it! I'm sorry to admit that my high-school (and college) French is rusty beyond repair.

Charlestongirl said...

Clarisse,

We all wish you a happy day! It sounds like one with memories as well as patriotic pride.

Love you!