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You’re on holiday. You’re having a lovely time. You’re getting brown, haven’t had a tummy bug, and they’ve given you a natty little hire car, better than yours at home. It’s your first solo trip and you’re doing fine. You’re congratulating yourself on time and money well spent.

You’re relaxed away from the office. You’ve rung mum and dad, your partner and the cat. You’ve even bought your holiday presents in good time. You’re on the beach and everything is dandy, in fact you’re feeling on top of the world.

You have found, though, unlike you imagined not everyone speaks English. Why didn’t you book into your local language school as you meant to? Not enough time, of course. You put it off as it didn’t seem a priority compared with buying new clothes and sun tan lotions. Never mind, you’ll get by.

You return to the hotel to find it over-run by local police. Upon enquiry at reception, you find that thieves have managed to access the rooms and stolen guests’ passports, wallets and valuables. And worse, one of the rooms was yours.

You get to your room and yes, everything’s been rifled. Many things are missing. Your new digital camera with all your holiday photos, your new designer clothes, your passport, the rest of your local currency, your credit cards, all your jewellery and that gorgeous Michael Kors watch you were given by your boss last birthday.

After weeping profusely over the hotel manager, you assume she’ll help you deal with the police and authorities, but you were wrong. She’s more concerned with dealing with head office and PR fall-out.

It then takes the remainder of your holiday to sort out replacement money and passport, deal with the insurance company local office, airport and car hire company, most of which only offer staff who talk the native language.

It’s an awful situation, of course, made worse by your feeling of isolation and inadequacy at not being able to communicate well enough. Now you can see the benefit of learning more languages, especially when you’re going to countries where English isn’t spoken much.

You resolve that upon your return, as well as using the insurance money on new jewellery, new camera and clothes, you’ll book a language class with The Language Guru. Here’s the tricky part … will you join a 10-week class where you’ll meet new people and make some new friends, or book some 1-2-1 Skype sessions so you can learn without leaving home?

 

The scenario has, of course, been imagined for this blog but the situation could be real enough. So could fire, flood, volcano, harassment and every other bad thing you can imagine.

Learning a second (or third) language helps keep your grey cells working as well as being an essential part of your holiday toolkit and is part of your personal development if you’re someone who likes to keep enhancing your skills and abilities. And it could just make life a little easier when things go wrong. Lesson learned.

 

Call The Language Guru on 01273 222900 or book online at www.thelanguageguru.co.uk

9 out of 10 clients think we’re excellent! Find out for yourself.

In November last year I travelled around Colombia for two-and-a-half-weeks. At the time, I knew around three words in Spanish: hola, adios and cerveza. Shortly after touching down in Bogota I realised these were paltry.

Anyone who has travelled to South America will know it’s impossible to get by without learning the lingo, fast. So, with the help of some locals I picked up words, numbers, phrases, and actually attempted to communicate in Spanish. It was brilliant – not being able to resort to English was liberating so I became curious and kept asking how to say certain things. At one point I successfully purchased hairspray and some tweezers in a sleepy Colombian Village.

I loved learning about the language and culture, so when I got home I started thinking about getting some Spanish lessons.

I was taught French at school for 11 years with multiple lessons a week and even private tuition at times. With all that instruction all I had to show was the ability to mumble a few sentences in French, read menus and mis-pronounce words left, right and centre while on holiday.

Learning a language this time had to be different. Learning Spanish was going to be for me – just for fun, not work and not to pass an exam – so a completely different experience. I had heard of The Language Guru through Brighton Chamber so I did a bit of research and booked a 10-week beginner Spanish course which I’ve now finished.

Yes, I was slightly nervous to start with. I am gregarious but this was different. I was going to be exposing myself and my ability to learn a language in a public setting, albeit a small class. How would I do? Would my accent be right? Could I remember things from week to week? Would I have time to practice? I needn’t have worried. All would be well. I was in good hands, and the experience has stretched those little grey cells in my brain I hadn’t used for a while just enough to get them working again!

The course flew by and I learnt a lot. Not just about the Spanish language and culture, but also how important learning is as an adult, even when the stresses of everyday life make you think there isn’t any possible room for anything other than work, family and sleep.

These are the main reasons I loved learning with The Language Guru:

• Although it is sometimes a bit of a chore to finish work, hot-foot it back home for a mouthful of food and then head out to a Spanish class, it’s incredibly important to do it and make time for yourself at least once a week. Learning a language helped me use my brain in a different way and switch off from work. The chatter and camaraderie of my peers helped lighten the week.

• There is always a breakthrough moment when learning something new and for me, this came in Week 4 when we were able to have a full, flowing conversation in Spanish with each other. This gave me a real sense of achievement, especially thinking back to how hard it was to even say hello and ask for a beer last year in Colombia.

• Learning a language is a brilliant way of meeting new, like-minded people. By the end of the course, almost all of us had decided to book onto the next course. We went out for drinks after our final class, joined by our wonderful teacher Patricia, and shared our love of travel, language and our general curiosity about the world.

I loved it all, and I’m looking forward to carrying on learning and putting it all to good use in the future.

Amy Lishman
Membership Manager
Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce

Did you know that Mother’s Day is celebrated on different days in other countries? As well as helping you learn languages, The Language Guru offers you a snapshot into the traditions and customs of those who speak the languages around the world.

In 2018, Mother’s Day falls on:

11^th March for the UK
6^th May for Spain and Portugal
13^th May for Germany and Italy (and the USA!)
27^th May for France

How did Mother’s Day come about?

The origins of Mother’s Day date back to ancient Greek times, but the way in which we celebrate it today began in America in the early 20th century.

The ancient Greeks dedicated an annual spring festival to maternal goddesses, and ancient Romans also celebrated a spring festival called Hilaria which was for a mother goddess called Cybele.

More recent origins of Mothering Sunday date back to the 1600s in England when it was held on the fourth Sunday of Lent.

It was originally a day for Christians to visit their ‘mother church’. Servants were given the day off the return to their home town and worship with their families. Returning home, young people would pick wild flowers to place in the church or to give to their mothers. This is allegedly why we often given flowers.

It has since evolved into the more secular celebration we know today.

Why is the date different in other countries?

The dates are either fixed due to religious reasons or chosen to coincide with certain special days.

Mother’s Day was first marked in 1908 in the USA, when a woman called Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother at St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. By 1911, Mother’s Day was celebrated in almost every US state and on May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a joint resolution document that confirmed every second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

Mothering Sunday is still a religious holiday celebrated by Catholic and Protestant Christians in some parts of Europe, still falling on the fourth Sunday of Lent three weeks before Easter Sunday.

UK

Mother’s Day in the UK is the forerunner to Father’s Day and now Grandparent’s Day, when we take time out to show love and appreciation for the special people in our lives. The giving of cards, gifts, flowers and chocolates is now ubiquitous with Mother’s Day, as are family lunches and now cakes. Commercialised or not, it’s a great opportunity to express thanks for being brought into the world!

Spain

In Spain, Mother’s Day or Día de la Madre is celebrated on the first Sunday of May. In general, mothers receive gifts by their children and family members and the day is meant to be celebrated with the whole family. It is also said to be celebrated in May as the month dedicated to the Virgin Mary, according to Catholicism.

Italy

Mother’s Day in Italy was celebrated for the first time on 24 December 1933 as the “Day of the Mother and the Child” (Giornata della madre e del fanciullo), instituted by the Opera Nazionale Maternità e Infanzia to publicly reward Italian women who had the most offspring each year.

After World War II, Mother’s Day was first celebrated on 12 May 1957 in Assisi, at the initiative of Reverend Otello Migliosi, the parish priest of the Tordibetto Church. This celebration was so popular that in the following year Mother’s Day was adopted throughout Italy.

Germany

Muttertag was originally instigated in Germany in the 1920s to encourage women to have more children and was once again reinstated after the war.

France

In the early 1900s, France was another country trying to increase the birth rate, giving medals to mothers of large families. Mother’s Day in France became commercialised in the 1950s.

A special family medal, known as the Médaille de la Famille is traditionally given to some parents, including those who have raised several children and some parents whose spouses have been killed.

Happy Mother’s Day – translations

French – Bonne fête des mères

German – Schönen Muttertag

Spanish – Feliz día de la madre

Italian – Buona festa della mamma

 

If you’d like to learn a new language, do get in touch with The Language Guru now.

 

*Sources: www.clareflorist.co.uk/international-mothers-day.aspx, www.independent.co.uk www.theindependent.co.uk, www.thesun.co.uk and Wikipedia

How many times have you been on holiday and one of you has a smattering of the local language and the other doesn’t? The person who knows the language must be the translator while the other relies on their partner for the service and often feels left out. Or maybe you’re the one who knows the language and you feel put upon. How many times do you have to translate the currency or the menu?!

Wouldn’t it be great if you could share the load – and in so doing, share the love of learning a new language?

There are plenty of advantages of learning a language as a couple, and at The Language Guru we recognise this through our new Special Couples Offer.

You both need to want to learn though, and here are some tips to making the shared experience a success. Bear in mind it’s possible one might have more of a flare for languages than the other, but helping your partner learn is a really caring thing you can do for them.

Arrange No English Days

Use your chosen new language to talk about everyday items and practice as much as possible.

Find a local café or restaurant which offers special evenings or tastings around the food or drink of your chosen language

Or simply go to, for example, tapas bars and only speak Spanish.

Watch films in your chosen language

You may not understand everything, but the more you do it, the more the language will become familiar. And try not to read the English subtitles!

Do activities around the language

Learn to cook using native methods and with as much local food as you can find here. Use cook books in the language and look up those words you don’t understand so it’s a more immersive experience. Have friends round so you can show off your new skills.

Or read books and magazines in the language.

Test each other daily

Make use of any free time you have by having fun vocabulary tests and give each other a small prize when they get something right.

Sing together

This is a great way of practicing a language and it’s even more enjoyable if you sing with your partner. Who doesn’t love a spot of Charles Aznavour or Ricky Martin?!

Help each other

Learning together can be a great experience. You always have someone to practice with, even when you leave the country, and you can encourage and support each other on the learning journey. It can be helpful to point out each other’s mistakes but be gentle, so you avoid an argument!

Learn with other couples

Make it a fun group event by learning with some of your coupled friends. Have competitions, go on holiday together, or if you’re going to be working abroad and need to learn a new language, you’ll feel less isolated when you get there if you can already feel comfortable communicating in everyday situations.

The Language Guru will help you every step of the way.

Good luck!

Before the golden haze of Christmas carols, too much food, the odd alcoholic beverage or two, and the potential stress of holidays spent with the family, take their toll on your intellectual judgement, why not make a New Year’s resolution to do something for yourself which could reap many health and wellbeing benefits?

Learning another language helps in many ways. Whether it’s French, Spanish, German or English, let’s take a look at why …

1. Be better at making decisions

Because you have to challenge yourself when learning another language, it’s possible your decision-making skills will be improved. You’ll be making decisions based on rational thinking rather than emotion.

2. Your memory could be improved

Learning a foreign language can help improve your memory so it might mean there are less incidents of you walking into a room and forgetting why you went there!

3. Learn to focus and be more attentive

Speaking a second language can help you focus and handle distractions better because you’ll be used to switching between languages. Your brain is challenged and focus improves.

4. Be better at multitasking

Speaking two or more languages can improve your ability to multitask, as you remember the differences and specific requirements of each one, both in writing and in conversation.

Because your cognitive skills are being used more than they might usually be, learning a foreign language can also help you learn other subjects, at school or college perhaps, or important things at work or at home.

7. Your first language will benefit as well

By learning another language, your knowledge of grammar improves as you remember what you learned (or didn’t learn!) at school. So you can become a better writer, speaker, and communicator.

8. Multiply those grey cells (Poirot would be proud) and potentially delay the onset of diseases like dementia

Grow your brain by learning a different language?! There’s a growing belief that learning another language keeps your brain healthy for longer. Scientists have allegedly found that people who can speak more than one language tend to develop dementia later than those who don’t, as your brain is being exercised more, which is one way of warding off those horrid diseases.

So, it’s a no-brainer! Make a New Year’s resolution to challenge yourself, your resolve and your brainpower, and book some tuition (in person 1-2-1, in a class, or via Skype from the cosiness of your home or office) from The Language Guru.

Happy New Year – Bonne année – Frohes neues Jahr – Feliz año nuevo !

It’s that time again! If you’re learning another language with The Language Guru, or even if you’re just interested in how other countries do it, here are some festive ways the holidays are celebrated in France, Spain and Germany. And to help you organise posting all those gifts to loved ones abroad, there’s a link to the last posting dates too.

Saint Nicholas’ Day, Germany

Not to be confused with Weihnachtsmann (Father Christmas), Nikolaus travels by donkey in the middle of the night on December 6^th (Nikolaus Tag) and leaves treats like coins, chocolate, oranges and toys in the shoes of good children. St Nicholas also visits them in schools or at home and in exchange for sweets or a small present, each child must recite a poem, sing a song or draw a picture.

But it isn’t always fun and games. St Nick often brings along Knecht Ruprecht (Farmhand Rupert). A devil-like character dressed in dark clothes covered with bells and a dirty beard. Knecht Ruprecht carries a stick or a small whip in hand to punish any children who misbehave.

German families prepare for Christmas throughout December. Four Sundays before Christmas, they make an Advent wreath of fir or pine branches with four coloured candles. They light a candle on the wreath each Sunday, sing Christmas songs, and eat Christmas cookies. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, homes are filled with the delightful smells of baking loaves of sweet bread, cakes filled with candied fruits, and spicy cookies called lebkuchen.

Towns and cities across Germany hold traditional Christmas markets offering mulled wine (glühwein), cakes, meats, gifts, toys and local arts and crafts. If you haven’t been, it’s certainly worth a visit.

At 400 years old, the tradition of the decorated Christmas tree is a comparatively young German custom. Historically, families decorated their living rooms with evergreen branches at Christmas. This custom eventually evolved into bringing in entire trees. In the 17th century, people started decorating their trees with ripe red apples, gingerbread and silk flowers to create the illusion of a tree brilliantly blooming in winter. By the 19th century, the Christmas tree had even replaced the nativity scene as the focal point of German Christmas festivities. The Christmas carol ‘Oh Tannenbaum’ is an ode to the Christmas tree.

Noël in France

In France, a Nativity crib is often used to help decorate homes. As well as having the normal Nativity figures in them, French scenes also have figures such as a butcher, a baker, a policeman and a priest. During December many towns and cities have wonderful Christmas markets, selling festive fare and gifts.

In French, Happy/Merry Christmas is ‘Joyeux Noël’. In Breton (spoken by some people in Brittany, Northern France) it’s ‘Nedeleg Laouen’ and in Corsican, it’s ‘Bon Natale’. Father Christmas is called Père Noël.

Yule Logs made from cherry wood are often burned in French homes. The log is carried into the home on Christmas Eve and is sprinkled with red wine to make the log smell nice when it’s burning. There is a custom that the log and candles are left burning all night with some food and drinks left out in case Mary and the baby Jesus come past during the night.

The main Christmas meal is often eaten on Christmas Eve. Dishes might include roast turkey with chestnuts or roast goose, oysters, foie gras, lobster, venison and cheeses with a chocolate sponge cake log called a bûche de Noël. The French are big on eating well at Christmas!

One main difference from the UK is that there is no Boxing Day in France, so it’s business as usual after the day and the meal before.

Christmas in Spain

Most people in Spain go to Midnight Mass or ‘La Misa Del Gallo’ (The Mass of the Rooster). It is called this because a rooster is supposed to have crowed the night that Jesus was born.

Most families eat their main Christmas meal on Christmas Eve before the service. The traditional Spanish Christmas dinner is ‘Pavo Trufado de Navidad’ which is turkey stuffed with truffles (the mushrooms, not the chocolate ones!). After the midnight service, people walk through the streets carrying torches, playing guitars and beating on tambourines and drums. One Spanish saying is ‘Esta noche es Noche-Buena, Y no es noche de dormir’ which means ‘Tonight is the good night and it is not meant for sleeping!’

A few different languages are spoken in different regions in Spain. In Spanish, Happy/Merry Christmas is ‘Feliz Navidad’; in Catalan it’s ‘Bon Nadal’; in Galician, it’s ‘Bo Nadal’; and in the Basque country, it’s ‘Eguberri on’.

New Year’s Eve is a night for throwing fiestas called ‘cotillones’ or for gathering in town squares under the old clock tower waiting for it to strike twelve. According to tradition, observers must then wolf down 12 grapes to guarantee good fortune for the New Year. Afterward, revellers toast the New Year with glasses of cava. The festive spirit continues until the early hours of the morning and January 1st is a day of rest for those who have partied too much.

Apart from Christmas, another festival celebrated in Spain is about the Christmas story. Epiphany is celebrated on 6th January. In Spanish, Epiphany is called ‘Fiesta de Los tres Reyes Mages’ meaning ‘The festival of the three magic kings’ and celebrates when the kings, or wise men, brought gifts to the baby Jesus.

Children have some presents on Christmas Day, but most are opened at Epiphany as some children believe that the kings bring presents to them at Epiphany. They write letters to the kings on Boxing Day asking for toys and presents. And on Epiphany Eve (January 5th) they leave shoes on windowsills, balconies or under the Christmas tree to be filled. Gifts are often left by children for the kings: a glass of cognac for each king, a satsuma and some walnuts. Sometimes a bucket of water is left for the camels that bring the kings. If the children have been bad, the kings might leave pieces of coal made from sugar in the presents!

Last posting dates for Christmas 2017 – UK and international

Here’s some useful information for everyone posting abroad:

http://www.royalmail.com/sites/default/files/rm-latest-posting-dates-christmas-2017.pdf

 

With thanks for the information to:

https://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/

https://www.momondo.co.uk/inspiration/christmas-traditions-around-the-world/

http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/society/holidays/christmas-in-spain

Wondering how to practise the language you’re learning with The Language Guru when you’re not in class or talking to us on Skype? Here are some quick and easy tips to help you do just that.

1. Why not use your mobile devices in your language of choice – as well as your social media accounts. Make sure you check what you’re saying first and work out your messages properly beforehand. Learn useful words such as ‘like, follow, share, comment and post’ so you can really take part in the experience
2. Try changing the language settings on your PC, Mac or laptop too
3. Set up a language lunch club at school, work or in your social group. It’s a great way of getting to know people and sharing knowledge
4. Use smartphone apps to keep translating useful phrases as you come across them
5. Listen to foreign language podcasts, radio stations, or audio books when you’re driving, jogging or on a train (be safe and alert to what’s going on around you too)
6. Compile a board using Post-It notes or images of things to help you associate words or phrases. If you’re going on holiday, choose images of things you’ll be likely to need to use, visit or say
7. Get a pen-pal so you can send letters, cards or emails in their language
8. Watch foreign language films and YouTube videos – don’t forget to sing along if you’re watching Eurovision!
9. Subscribe to foreign newspapers and magazines so you can read frequently and regularly, either online or in print
10. Visit charity shops, book stores or Amazon and grab yourself some bargain language books
11. Come along to The Language Guru social events and speak to our native tutors in an informal setting, as well as others studying languages just like you
12. Check out our Words of the Day in French, German and Spanish

 

Another useful language available through us is German.

It’s mainly spoken in Central Europe and is the most widely spoken and one of the official languages in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol (Italy), the German-speaking community of Belgium, and Liechtenstein.

Here’s an interesting fact (according to Wikipedia): German has the largest number of native speakers in the European Union (far more than English, Spanish, or French) and is among the ten most commonly spoken languages in the world. It is also a ‘common language’ of Central and Eastern Europe.

And …

Germany is the world’s second-largest exporter.

The German economy ranks number one in Europe and number four worldwide*. Its economy is comparable to that of all the world’s Spanish-speaking countries combined.

Germany is home to numerous international corporations.

Direct investment by Germany in the United States is over ten billion dollars.

22 Nobel Prizes in Physics, 30 in Chemistry, and 25 in Medicine have gone to scientists from the three major German-speaking countries, while many laureates from other countries received their training in German universities. Eleven Nobel Prizes in Literature have been awarded to German-language writers, and seven Germans and Austrians have received the Peace Prize.

Germans are world leaders in engineering. Think Audi, BMW, VW, Daimler and BASF.

German and English are similar. Many words in German sound and/or look the same as equivalent English ones, because the two languages share the same “grandparent.” For example, look at these words:

Haus = house, buch = book, finger = finger, Hand = hand, name = name, mutter = mother, schwimmen = to swim, singen = to sing, kommen = to come, blau = blue, alt = old, windig = windy

The German-speaking world has produced some of the most revered filmmakers of the 20th century – from Fritz Lang to Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Wim Wenders and a new generation of trans-national directors such as Tom Tykwer and Fatih Akin. German and Austrian filmmakers such as Lang, Billy Wilder and Ernst Lubitsch also helped shape the history of Hollywood.

German was the language of Goethe, Marx, Nietzsche, and Kafka, of Mann, Brecht, and Grass. Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and Schubert, Brahms, Schumann, Wagner, Mahler, and Schoenberg spoke and wrote German, as did Freud, Weber, Einstein, and Heisenberg, Kant, Hegel, and Heidegger.

German is the second most commonly used scientific language in the world.

18% of the world’s books are published in German, and relatively few of these ever appear in English translation.

German is well-known for its world-class higher education. Many of the Western world’s most important works of philosophy, literature, music, art history, theology, psychology, chemistry, physics, engineering and medicine are written in German and continue to be produced in German.

It’s always handy to speak the language when going on holiday to areas like Bavaria; planning to visit events like Oktoberfest; or going on city breaks to wonderful cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, and so many more. The German Christmas markets are also extravaganzas of gifts, food, drink and fun.

If you’ve been persuaded and would like to know more about learning German, call us now on 01273 222900 or email info@thelanguageguru.co.uk

*Source for the above info: www.studying-in-germany.org as at 8.9.17

 

It’s the stuff of which daydreams are made. Beautiful tropical islands, balmy sea breezes, sandy beaches as far as the eye can see, a slow and delightful pace of life, cocktails by the shore, dramatic rain forests, stunning scenery, picturesque villages and local boutiques.

Welcome to the French territories in the Caribbean, part of the West Indies: Guadeloupe, Martinique, St Barthélemy (St Brats or St Barth), St Martin, French Guiana, Les Saintes and Marie-Gal ante. They’re are all part of France, something you might not have realised. Each has its own unique character yet they all offer a delightful French flavour and joie de vivre.

Independent nations that are also predominantly French-speaking and/or French Creole-speaking are Haiti, Dominica and Saint Lucia, although the last two are predominantly English-speaking with French widely spoken, having gained independence from Great Britain.

Exhibiting a combination of French and Caribbean cultural influences not only in language but in music, cuisine, style, architecture, and more, in this blog we look at French Caribbean cooking to tempt your palate.

The word creole, taken in its meaning of “mixture,” fits most Caribbean cooking. Pre-Columbian Arawak and Taino people subsisted on the fruits of the sea and starchy cassava root. Imperial designs, slavery and merchant immigration brought succeeding influence from the British, Spanish, French, Dutch, African, Indian and Chinese.

Each island has signature dishes reflecting its own history. Seafood is widely eaten, as are chicken and goat. Okra, greens, taro and yams are popular, as well as plantains, limes, sour oranges and other tropical fruits.

Taking Guadeloupe as an example, here’s a selection of what might be on offer:

Accrats de Morue (Codfish fritters)

Calaloo (Soup with taro leaves)

Pâté en Pot (Goat’s head stew)

Féroces d’Avocat (Avocado and salt cod salad)

Jerk Chicken (Spicy grilled chicken)

Pineapple Chicken Rundown (Grilled chicken with a pineapple-cream sauce)

Mechoui (Spit-roasted lamb)

Huile de Rou-Cou (Annato oil)

Sauce Chien (Hot pepper sauce)

Souskaï de Mangues Vertes (Mango appetizer)

If you’d like to know more, see http://www.whats4eats.com/caribbean/caribbean-island-cuisine

 

Don’t forget to learn French with The Language Guru before you visit. It’s so useful when:

• Booking a hotel and communicating complaints or appreciation
• Negotiating a taxi fare
• Understanding the menu and ordering a meal
• Getting about and sight-seeing
• Dealing with any customs or airport scenarios
• Buying goods
• And so much more

Book your French language classes here

 

With thanks to Wikipedia and whats4eats for some of the information in this blog post.

 

‘La Fête Nationale’, the French annual national holiday on 14^th July, marks the 18^th century ‘Storming of the Bastille’ in Paris.

Similar to the USA’s 4^th July, it’s a commemoration of the beginning of republican democracy and the end of tyrannical rule.

In 1789, the French economy was in disarray, contributing to a political crisis. The king, Louis XVI, was having trouble controlling anti-monarchist groups.

The Bastille was a medieval fortress and prison, and a symbol of tyrannical authority in central Paris, and had held many political dissidents.

Violent conflict between royalist and anti-monarchist elements broke out across Paris, with the Bastille’s garrison eventually finding themselves surrounded by an armed mob on the morning of 14^th July. The mob finally took the castle at the cost of around 100 lives.

This event eventually contributed to the overthrow of the monarchy and the execution of Louis XVI and his wife Queen Marie Antoinette.

The prison was completely destroyed within five months and only a monument now stands on the site in the middle of a cobbled square.

Like Independence Day in the USA, the French celebrate all things that symbolise France, such the tricolore flag and La Marseillaise – both of which originate from the revolution.

Rather than commemorating the storming of the Bastille itself, it is a day to celebrate the republican national motto “liberty, equality and fraternity”.

A public holiday in France, the day is celebrated with an abundance of fireworks, communal eating and parades. A military parade takes place along the Champs-Elysées in Paris, which is the oldest military parade in the world, having first taken place on Bastille Day in 1880.

 

(With thanks to The Independent for the information)