Tricolour, Anthem, Fleur de Lys

French Public Holidays

1^st        January New Year’s Day (Jour de l’An)
23^rd      March 2008 Easter (Pâques)
24^th      March 2008 Easter Monday (Le lundi de Pâques)
1^st        May Labour Day (Fête du Travail)
1^st        May 2008 Ascension Day (Ascension)
8^th        May Victory Day 1945 (Fête de la Victoire)
11^th      May 2008 Pentecost (Pentecôte)
14^th      July Bastille Day (Fête Nationale)
15^th      August Assumption Day (Assomption)
1^st        November All Saints Day (Toussaint)
11^th      November Armistice Day 1918 (Armistice)
25^th      December Christmas Day (Nöel)

Introduction-Comment

If a public holiday falls on a Thursday or a Tuesday, it is quite common for banks and some shops (or even schools) to faire le pont (i.e. make a long weekend of it, literally make a bridge). So, if a public holiday is due, you have to make sure that you have enough money to last you for a few days, as the banks may be closed for some time!

Before talking about the main national holiday, I’d like to tell you a bit about the area of France where I live, Languedoc.

Its name derives from the ‘alternative French’ spoken in southern France, which was originally distinguished from the ‘northern French’ by the word used for “yes”. Parisian or northern French for ‘yes’ was ‘oil’ which has developed into ‘oui’. In the south they used ‘oc’. So, in the north they used the langue d’oil and in the south Provençal, Catalan and other regional patois all came under the langue d’oc.

Languedoc does not have exact boundaries, but today it is thought to be the central part, west of the Rhône and east of Toulouse, between the southern slopes of the Massif Central and the sea. It also includes the Roussillon or the Pyrenees-Orientales. The departments in the Languedoc Roussillon are Gard, Lozère, Hérault and Aude (where I live). It is the hottest and driest part of France (that’s why I’m here!).

The Languedoc region is known for its red wine, Blanquette, flat sunny coastline of modern resorts and the campsites, wooded mountains and valleys, limestone plateaux and deep gorges, underground caverns and grottos, and little remote hilltop villages, its tragic past of rebellion and persecution, its rugby football and bull-fighting (oh dear on that one!).

I live in a little hilltop village called Plaigne. Our house is a traditional stonebuilt farmhouse of this region, about 300 years old. Its name, “La Borde” tells a French person what the house is like. It is long. Traditionally, bordes have a chimney at the right hand end of the house. This is where the kitchen and living area was. Then, on the ground level or below, were the stables and above those was the hayloft. The children usually slept in the hayloft. Very often at the left hand end of the house was an attached, open fronted barn.  The stone walls are extremely thick.

Bastille Day is one of the most festive liberation days in the world.

Claude Monet © Marianne

Liberty Leading the People © Delacroix

You may recognize Carcassonne, if you saw the film, “Robin Hood Prince of Thieves” with Kevin Costner. Raymonde & Isabelle (my two youngest), love Carcassonne and they love watching this film. They call the film Carcassonne. “Can we watch Carcassonne, Mummy?”
Mummy normally agrees to that request (who can refuse a dose of KC? LOL. Unfortunately, he’s never been at Carcassonne when I’ve been there! Have seen the costume that he wore though, in a tapestry shop and atelier). But I digress! 

In our village, on 14th July, we have a lunchtime village picnic. There is great ambiance and we all share in a good time together. The maire usually provides some Blanquette, which is very nice. Yes, very nice. I prefer blanquette to champagne. Far tastier.

Lastly, I’ll mention the Autumn apple festival in Mirepoix, which is 12 km away from us. Mirepoix is actually in Ariège and therefore not in Languedoc, but it is so close to us, that I thought I’d include it. Mirepoix is filled with statues and structures all made out of apples. It makes a splendid site. Each year, a different theme is chosen.

Updated
Master Arts -Video Clip 

Delacroix                        Versailles                           Voltaire

France is the first European country which addressed Human Rights in its Declaration of 1789 during the French Revolution.Many of the current European laws about human rights were heavily influenced by the French version.

One big difference though, in 1789 it were only the hommes who received these rights despite women playing important roles during the Revolution.

Click above - Viva La France Dance