Joyeux Le Quatorze Juillet!

            Happy Bastille Day! Or as the French call it, le quatorze juillet, or July 14^th. (Kind of like the 4^th of July). What is Bastille Day and why do the French celebrate it?

            Okay, here’s a little bit of a French history lesson. As you may know, there was a French Revolution shortly after the American Revolution, which rebelled against the power of the king in favor of the power of the people. Bastille Day commemorates the storming of the Bastille on July 14^th, 1789; the Bastille was a prison which was known for holding political prisoners whose incendiary writings seemed traitorous to the royal government.  Thus, the Bastille was thus a symbol of the absolutism of the monarchy.  Although there were only seven people in the Bastille when it was captured, it marked the beginning of the French Revolution and signaled that the people did not accept the king’s absolutist power anymore.  Thus, it is the birth of the sovereign Nation.

            So it’s kind of like the fourth of July, in terms of celebrations, fireworks, festivities, etc.  And this year, we get to go to two fireworks sessions: one the night of July 13^th at Cagnes-Sur-Mer and one the night of July 14^th at St-Laurent-du-Var. 

 The fireworks and festivities were so fun; it’s night time (around 10pm or 11pm), and both kids and adults are out roaming the closed off streets along the beach. Kids are carrying around fish bubble guns (what happened to the good ol’ days when they had to take the effort to blow the bubbles?), light contraptions, balloons, cotton candy and ice cream…vendors sell churros, socca (Nice speciality—chickpea crepe, basically), and coffee/tea…people stand in incredible roller coaster-like lines to buy this delicious food…there’s a concert with a group singing Black Eyed Peas…so many sights, foods smells. I loved it.  It literally was the best night so far here in France—and why not?