La Fête de la Bastille or Fête Nationale celebrates the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789 and the beginning of the French Revolution of 1789. The Bastille was seen as a symbol of the absolute power of Louis the 16th’s Regime and its storming and defeat represented a symbol of liberty. Bastille Day was declared a French national holiday in 1880, a celebration of the birth of the Republic.

Fireworks, dancing, and a lot of celebrating mark the event every year throughout France.

In all villages and towns, there is a military parade, and in Paris it takes place on the Champs-Elysées, in front of the President.

14th July, National Day

July 14th on the Champs-Elysées, in Paris

Sant Jordi, April 23rd, Catalan festival, The book and the rose

Celebrated on or around 23rd April, Sant Jordi is the Patron saint of Catalonia and the French equivalent of St George. According to legend, he met a dragon terrorising the inhabitants of a town, He wanted to eat a girl everyday. When it was the king's daughter's turn,St Jordi rescued her.

Then, the king and the whole population converted to Christianity in gratitude and roses grew from the ground where there was the dragon's blood.

Sant Jordi in the streets of Perpignan

Sant Jordi in Argelès

At the end of the 19th century, Sant Jordi became a Catalan symbol as his struggle against the dragon was similar to the Catalan struggle for freedom. It became traditional to give a rose and a book to a loved one and annual literary competitions were held to stimulate young people to cultivate, respect and take pleasure in the Catalan literature and language, a tradition which inspired UNESCO to declare this date the International Day of the Book. Offer your lady a rose, buy your man a book in the streets of Perpignan on Saturday 21st April as bookstalls set up on the quai Vauban, place Gambetta, and place Arago, and towns and villages throughout the region. April 23rd was not only famous because of the legend of St. George, but also because it is the anniversary of the death of two great writers: CERVANTES and SHAKESPEARE !

Les Feux de la Saint-Jean & La Trobada du Canigou, June 23rd

A lovely tradition to celebrate the Summer Solstice of St Jean around the 22nd June is the meeting of Catalans from both sides of the Pyrénées on the summit of the Canigou.Troops of walkers and representatives of villages and towns throughout Catalonia, meet up on the Plateau des Cortalets, where they set up tents and prepare for a sleepless night! The ultimate goal of the Trobada is to get up to the peak at 2,784m high, with bunches of wood to contribute to the huge bonfire prepared on the summit. This gathering is known as the "Trobada" (a catalan word meaning "meeting" or "reunion").

At midnight a flaming torch, kept throughout the year at the Castillet in Perpignan, is carried to the top of the mountain and used to light a bonfire which can be seen all over the Conflent. The next day, relay runners carry the "flamme du Canigou" down onto the plain to all the villages they pass through on the way to Perpignan and in the evening, these flames light the "Focs de la Sant Joan" or "Feux de la Saint Jean", fires that have been prepared in towns and villages all over the region. With the arrival of the torch, and the lighting of the fires, the festivities begin.

In Perpignan for example, this consists of music and dancing, fireworks and laser display, a giant screen in front of the Castillet showing the procession of the flame and its presentation by runners, the traditional ceremony of the sharing of the bread (le partage du pain) with shepherds from the Canigou, son et lumière.......... but there is some kind of celebration in most towns and villages around the region.

It is a night for celebration and an important symbol of the unity of the Catalan culture

The arrival of the flame in PerpignanThe bunch of wild flowers

Saint Côme and Saint Damien, September 26th , Festival of Argelès-sur-Mer

Every year, towards the end of September, Argelès-sur-Mer pays homage to its patron saints, Saint Côme and Saint Damien, twins and early Christian martyrs, who healed the sick for free.According to legend, Argelès was struck by plague in the 17th century, an epidemic which disappeared on 27th September 1652 - the feast of the patron saints - and on which day the population made a vow to carry out a solemn procession to honour them every year...A long weekend of different events and entertainment, sardanes, castellers, and bals, crashing to a grand finale on Sunday 2nd October with the parade through the streets of the Giants and Big-Heads (gegants i capgrossos.) from North and South Catalonia when more than 500 giants dance in the streets!

In the church of Argelès

Gegants are enormous figures, sometimes 14 or 15 ft tall, with painted papier-maché heads and arms. Dressed in traditional clothing, they are built on a frame with a person inside, controlling the movements as the giant dances and sways.Most towns have their own giants. They usually appear in couples, often as king and queen, or some other important person from the town’s history, and go out during the patron saint holiday of the town (Festa Major) or on special days, and dance in the streets with "big-heads" or "cap-grossos", smaller figures, with oversized heads, who parody local characters and will often carry a whip or pig bladder, to frighten the children!