Today is Bastille Day, which I gather is a major holiday in France, the equivalent of our Fourth of July. Hopefully I will not offend anybody who is French, but I do not understand the significance of Bastille Day. Consider these facts:

• Bastille Day commemorates when a mob of citizens stormed the royal prison and freed perhaps a dozen prisoners at most.
• The event was one of the catalysts of the French Revolution which proved to be more repressive than the monarchy it replaced (remember Robespierre? The Guillotine?)
• The new government was itself overthrown, power eventually falling into the hands of Napolean Bonaparte who himself was eventually beaten by the combined powers of western Europe
• Ultimately all the chaos ended when the monarchy was restored!

I realize that holidays are largely symbolic in many, if not most, instances. Christmas represents the birth of Jesus Christ who was definitely not born on that day and probably not in the manner celebrated. Thanksgiving celebrates a dinner held between a small handful of people, which also might be as much legend as historical fact.

People need occasions to celebrate, whether they are factual (the birth of a new child; graduation from college) or fictitious. Without such occasions, life becomes an endless series of wake up, go to work, come home, do chores, go to sleep. Some people are fortunate enough to have passionate interests which make their lives richer. Reading and writing have always been my passions. I know people who live for art or running or music. But I suspect we are in the minority. For everybody else, holidays bring the little perks which often make their lives more fun or, in less fortunate instances, more tolerable.

Long live Bastille Day!