Bastille Day, aka French National Day, is on Saturday, July 14 (which means that the day before is yet another Friday the 13th). It celebrates the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789, which was inspired in part by ours. It was a fascinating time (I can say from the comfort and safety offered by the intervening centuries) filled with many intriguing characters: http://bastille-day.com/
One of my all-time favorite books, whose story takes place during this time, is Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities: a story of the French Revolution. It is a tragic story of love, fear, hope, loyalty, treachery, and suspense, and it both begins and ends with some of the most famous lines in all of literature (plus, who can ever forget Mme. Defarge and her knitting?): http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/98
Perhaps one of the more interesting celebrations in the United States will be taking place at the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, where citizens can take part in a Super-Soaker storming of the prison, the Bearded Ladies will dance, and 3,000 Tastykakes will be showered upon the onlookers as Marie Antoinette is guillotined: http://www.easternstate.org/bastille-day
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