Today is my MIL's  95th birthday.  Remarkable that she's made it this far.

Also today:

Bastille Day commemorates modern France and French democracy. Bastille Day is a French holiday. But, you can celebrate it, too.

Bastille Day symbolizes the end of the constitutional monarchy, and the beginning of the democratic republic of France. To Frenchmen, Bastille Day is viewed as their liberation.

Bastille Day is actually called Fete de la Federation. In France, it is a holiday that is celebrated with military parades.

Happy Bastille Day and "Vive la France!"

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A Little (but not too much) Bastille Day History:

In the late 1700s, France was ruled by a king.

On July 14, 1789, there was an uprising against the constitutional monarchy, and the people stormed Bastille.

Bastille was actually a prison, and it was a symbol of the monarchy.

The goal was to create reconciliation for all of France, promote unity, and purse liberty from the monarchy.

This uprising ultimately led to the birth of democracy in France.

Fete de la Federation was first held on July 14, 1790, the first anniversary of the storming of the prison at Bastille.