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History Series: Bastille Day
History of Bastille Day
Its Relation to the French Revolution
Each year on July 14, Bastille Day commemorates the Storming of the Bastille in Paris in 1789, an important date in the French Revolution. Also known as French National Day, it features feasting, fireworks, public dancing, and an address by the French President.
However, the center of this celebration is the largest and oldest European military parade along the Avenue of the Champs-Élysées. This wide boulevard runs through Paris and is called la plus belle avenue du monde.
Lined by high-end shops and eateries, as well as the Arch of Triumph (l’Arc de Triomphe) in the middle, it is undoubtedly the most beautiful avenue in the world I’ve walked along.
Bastille Day is celebrated across the globe wherever French expatriots, people of French ancestry, and Francophiles live.
What is its origin, how has it been celebrated, what’s the American connection, what does it mean today?
