Brain Top Off!

            Learning about Bastille Day trivia is an important part of getting a better understanding of international history and culture, as this is one of the most important days in history of the Nation of France. There are many facts about Bastille Day which the average person might be unaware of, but we’ll try and highlight some of the most prominent points which might be found in Bastille day quiz questions.

            First off, do you even know on which day Bastille day is celebrated? It takes place on the 14 of July, and is the national holiday of that country, similar to July 4^th in America. The day was chosen because it was on July 14^th in 1789 on which the Bastille was stormed during the French Revolution. The holiday is a commemoration of the Fete de la Federation which was held one year after that famous attack.

            An interesting bit of Bastille Day trivia is that during that day, the President of France has the authority to issue pardons to criminals. This has traditionally only been used in a minor capacity as a gesture of goodwill to the people of the country. In previous years presidents would typically use this as an opportunity to pardon traffic offenders or other minor offenders who were in no way actually posing a danger to the society. However, president Sarkozy appears to have discontinued this practice.

            The Bastille was stormed by the french people both for its tactical significance and as a gesture to what the fortress symbolized. They needed the gunpowder and ammunition contained within the fortress, but in addition they wanted to free political prisoners, many of whom had been their allies before they had been imprisoned in the fortress.  Prisoners held in the Bastille were often arrested based on the Royal word alone, with no formal charges or appeal process in place, just one of the many injustices of the monarchy that the people of France were beginning to rebel against.

            Although the Fete de la Federation was the official beginning of the holiday Bastille Day, the modern day celebration has much more modern origins, starting in 1878 with some unofficial parties which were honoring the republic government. It was in 1880 that Benjamin Raspail actually put forward a law which the assembly then passed in order the make the 14^th of July the national Holiday of France, and has been celebrated ever since,  both in France and in other countries with a strong french population.

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