I like to think of myself as someone who notes the oft forgotten American and foreign holidays, but yesterday, I made a major faux pas, and that is not a pun. I forgot Bastille Day.
For those who don't know, Bastille Day--Fête Nationale--is the celebration of the day in 1789 that the poor of Paris marched on the royal prison, the Bastille, and released the prisoners, effectively beginning the French Revolution (at least in the minds of the French). It is their equivalent of Independence Day, celebrated with their own tri-striped red, white, and blue flags being unfurled and parades and fireworks.
For an additional bit of fun info, the Marquis de Lafayette gifted George Washington with one of the keys to the Bastille, which hung (hangs?) in Mt. Vernon.
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