Happy July 14th, to our French friends, Happy National Holiday, Joyeux 14 Juillet! Although the 14th of July is known as Bastille Day in France, the French may not be too pleased or "Happy" if you wish them a Happy Bastille Day! Officially, le 14 Juillet does NOT celebrate the 1789 storming of the Bastille. It commemorates la Fête de la Fédération, organized on the same day in 1790, one year later. That night, Paris, in the presence of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, partied on the Champ de Mars to celebrate the success of a peaceful revolution and the principle of a constitutional monarchy. One may say, “wishful thinking”, as unfortunately the revolution continued, ever more violent, until Napoléon Bonaparte became Premier Consul nine years later in 1799. Nonetheless, the Fête de la Fédération was renamed la Fête Nationale française in 1880. Yet, almost everybody in France will tell you, though, that le 14 Juillet commemorates la prise de la Bastille (the capture of the Bastille)…Still, you don’t say “Happy Bastille Day” in English or, in French. #Bastilleday, #FrenchNationalHoliday, #FrenchFeteNationale,