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Tami's BlogHappy Independence Day to all my French friends and colleagues!
Tami Lancut Leibovitz
The French Independence day is known as “Bastille Day” – France National Day. On that day, in the year 1789, the French crowd gathered to take down the Bastille, free the prisoners and free France of its monarchist ruling and ideas.
The meaning for the word Bastille is literally “Fortress” but when Bastille Day is concerned, it’s referred to a specific one, one that was built for defense reasons, the Saint Antoine bastille. The bastille was a prison for political activists, artists and writers that were opposing the king and juvenile delinquents. The event all of France is celebrating today is the storming of the Bastille, taking down the prison and its staff and liberate the captured. Can you guess how many prisoners were actually in the bastille while it was taken down?
Believe it or not, only 7 prisoners! The bastille was a symbol for oppression but definitely not the worse of jails in the city.
Modern Day Celebrations
The storming of the bastille symbols a national victory over inequality and injustice. The whole country celebrates with festive events but the best place to be is the city of Paris that becomes a festival of lights with parades – the main one in the infamous Champ-Elysees, family gatherings and the street parties. The grand celebrations actually starts the night before, when thousands meet in the Bastille square and around the city for dancing balls and street dancing until the small hours of the night. The fireworks display is one of the highlights of the night, highlighting the Parisian sky in magnificent colors and painting the city with joy. Another special event is a huge picnic event, attracting people from all over the country.
A special privilege is being given to the president of France on Bastille Day, the privilege to exonerate prisoners with minor offences on their record. The true meaning of freedom is being display through it.
Paris was not having an easy year, suffering from a number of terror attacks. Looking forward into next year, I would love to wish the people of France more peace, equality and freedom!
Exploring and learning about new cultures is one of my greatest passions I would love to share with you,
If you are as curious as me and you want to know more about the etiquette language of business and society in different cultures and countries, please visit my website or Amazon to inquire about my book, The IBL Code: International Business Language.!