A French National Celebration – Bastille Day
Blog post written by marine jackson
Just ten days after America celebrates its separation from Great Britain, France too has their own patriotic celebration on July 14th, formally known as Bastille Day.
But French people don’t actually call it that. Instead they refer to it as “la Fête Nationale,” which translates to “the National Celebration,” or better yet, “Le Quatorze Juillet” which means “July 14th.” The latter being the most common way to reference the day.
History of Bastille Day
To give you a little background, France was in a state of unrest in the Spring of 1789. That year, on July 14th, a mob broke into the Bastille (an ancient Royal fortress) and released the handful of prisoners held there. This signaled the beginning of the French Revolution and also became a symbol of the end of the "Ancien Régime" (Old Regime).
Basically, the events of this day marked the end of a repressive monarchy, and the beginning of democracy in France. The French Assembly adopted the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen" soon after, which officially abolished feudalism and adopted a system based on equal opportunity, freedom of speech, and a representative government - thereby undermining the power of the monarchy.
The surprising truth about July 14th
But the date selection of this national holiday isn’t so cut and dry. Here’s some extra history that will surprise you…
Although July 14th is known to commemorate the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789, there was also the peaceful unifying Festival of the Federation on July 14th, 1790.
Here’s what allegedly happened – the French senate decided their country needed a national holiday that would warrant a patriotic celebration. Several dates were thrown around as possibilities, and many disagreements ensued, but ultimately July 14th was selected as it would give people the option to celebrate one of two historical events.
And so, on July 6, 1880, parliament passed an act naming July 14 a national holiday.
How do the French celebrate?
To put it simply, the French celebrate this national holiday very similarly to how we celebrate the 4th of July in the USA.
They party hard… with concerts, dance parties, food and drinks, and fireworks all over the country. But most notably, with the very elaborate military parade that’s at the center of it all in Paris, at the Champs-Elysées.
To put it in perspective, the 2022 Paris celebration had about 5,000 participants, 221 tanks and other vehicles, a choir of 120 young people, and about 4,300 soldiers on foot. Four THOUSAND soldiers participating in a parade! Massive.
You will often hear the French shouting, “Vive the 14 juillet!” (“Long live the 14th of July!”) along with “liberté, egalité, fraternité!” (“liberty, equality, brotherhood!”)
HOW YOU CAN CELEBRATE
If you want to celebrate, here’s a roundup of 10 ways people celebrate Bastille Day with food: Bastille Day Instagram Roundup | Food&Wine
And if you haven’t watched the historical drama, Marie-Antoinette, featuring actress Kirsten Dunst, it’s a good watch. While not a historically accurate documentary, it is a very entertaining movie with some truths about this time period intertwined.
At the very least, you can join me in raising a glass to salute France’s hard-won liberté, egalité, fraternité!
