Crack open that pack of Camels and pop the cork on that bottle of Ruinart—it’s Bastille Day! The Fourteenth of July celebrates the storming the Bastille prison and the “happy conclusion” (yeah, we know what you’re thinking, dirtbag) of the French Revolution. The national holiday (or La Fête nationale as it is known in French) is cause for celebration … for most.
There are few remaining bastions of the French Imperial Court who escaped the guillotine and their aristocratic descendants are only too pleased to tell you so. To wish them “Happy Bastille Day!” is the equivalent of saying “Happy day on which your ancestors were captured and taken for execution by beheading!”
So err on the safe side today when wishing a Gaul well on his day of national pride and say, “Bon le quatorze juillet !” (bon le cart-oars jwee-ay) or “Joyeux le quatorze juillet !” (jwhy-err le cart-oars jwee-ay), which means “Happy Fourteenth of July!”, or simply, “Bonne fête !” (bon fett), meaning “Happy celebration!” Why poke the lion in its cage when you can feed it a croque monsieur?
Published on 14 July 2011 by Agony Uncle