Odd that the Americans celebrate the 14th of July ten days early...
Seriously, yes, celebrations are always fun. The Bastille Day fireworks are let off from a 1000-year-old castle a few hundred yards from our house, and the war memorial (remember May 8th and November 11th) is directly in front of our house. But the only overtly 'patriotic' stuff is the flags on the Mairie (town hall) and war memorial. Oh, that, and the local band plays the Marseillaise whenever they get an excuse.
In what other countries do people wave flags habitually? The English tend to do it for royal occasions, and surprisingly many countries do it for World Cup football matches. For that matter, in what other country do people even have a symbol like Uncle Sam? John Bull is pretty much gone, and I can't think of many countries that have a similar personification. Maybe it's too easy for enemies to burn them in effigy.
No doubt there are those who will take this as an attack on the USA. It isn't. It's an inquiry into why Americans seem to have a different view of (and greater fondness for) national symbols. Of course in many countries, especially Catholic ones, Poland above all, you get a lot of religious symbolism (crosses, crucifixes, calvaries, Blessed Virgins, etc.) Anyone else seen the 36-metre statue of Christ the King in Swiebodzin?
Oh, and finally, yes, I know, the American Revolution predated the French one, so it's the French who are 10 days late on Independence Day...
Cheers,
R.
