How to Enjoy Bastille Day

The French national holiday Bastille Day commemorates the infamous storming of the Bastille, a Parisian prison, on July 14, 1789. Because this date marks the beginning of the French Revolution, people have been dancing on the site ever since. It is a day to celebrate freedom for all people and to proclaim, "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité!"

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• French Bread
• Picnic Lunches
• Champagne
• Picnic Basket
• Picnic Blankets
• Airline Tickets
• Champagne Flutes

1. Plan ahead and travel to Paris to enjoy the celebrations. Expect fireworks, military parades and dancing in the streets.

2. Look for Bastille Day celebrations closer to home. French restaurants and Francophone organizations are great places to start your inquiry about festivities for the public.

3. Celebrate by having an evening picnic of wonderful French cheeses, French bread, French wine, grapes, pâté and your other favorite French gourmet treats.

4. Make a reservation at a local French restaurant, and order something new and different. Alternatively, learn to make your favorite French food.

5. Memorize the words to "La Marseillaise," the French national anthem since 1795.

6. Wear blue, white and red, the "tricolore" of France, or don a beret.

7. Sample true bubbly from Champagne, or conduct a taste test between French Champagne and the American equivalent.

8. Take a moment to contemplate the freedom you enjoy that many in the world do not.

Tips & Warnings

• The Bastille, a 14th-century castle later converted into a prison, was destroyed immediately after the revolt; many of the prison's stones are now part of the Pont de la Concorde.
• Many countries recognize only sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France to be true Champagne. Everything else is simply sparkling wine and may not be called Champagne.
• Be extremely careful when using fireworks, and make sure that it's legal to use them in your area.

on 7/14/2006 Remember the amazing contributions, spirit and wisdom of the French people, and pray for their leaders on this joyous holiday!

And if you are a French national reading this, have a lovely day wherever you are! I will be dreaming of Paris all day myself, it has been too long since my last visit.