Bastille Day is upon us, the date when French revolutionaries stormed the Bastille on their way to overthrowing Louis XVI. With that memes are a-flowing, and Twitter is a-tweeting.
Twitter seems to have commandeered most major holidays lately, with countless ‘Happy X Day’ tweets flowing out of thousands of surely uninterested accounts, celebrities looking to win some followers and businesses selling their services.
But when that celebration is French, it seems stereotypes and foodstuffs dominate proceedings more than normal.
Of course, at first comes an element of confusion as popular sweets, and contemporary music, result in crossed wires:
I thought #BastilleDay was about them playing a big festival today, but apparently it’s something to do with France
— Jack (@YouWishYouCouId) July 14, 2015
But slowly people recognise the significance of one of modern history’s most famous revolutions:
With that, it’s all about celebrating with pictures, whether you’re a major camera company taking cool snaps, or an opportunistic 1980s British TV star:
Happy #BastilleDay to @NikonFR & our French fans! (Amazing shot by A.G.Photographe http://t.co/YHm5YfmNKv) #NikonD800 pic.twitter.com/8CAb0V60DH
— Nikon Europe (@NikonEurope) July 14, 2015
Here’s a fitting picture for “Le Quatorze Juillet!” (also known as Bastille Day if your French is a bit rusty…) pic.twitter.com/483qoPkxs1 — Morph (@AmazingMorph) July 14, 2015
Then comes the ‘oh don’t they have a dance?’ thinking:
#BastilleDay, a French cancan with the Parisian firemen! #LaPetiteRobeNoire pic.twitter.com/ylguzc1f2F
— Guerlain (@Guerlain) July 13, 2015
Of course, contemporary politics means certain embarrassing US topics need a rehash:
Tomorrow is Bastille Day why isn’t Freedom Fry Day trending people #fail — Rusty Staples (@rusty_staples) July 13, 2015
And computer games get their inevitable introduction:
Celebrating #BastilleDay by storming the nearest castle. Too bad the Princess is in another one…the joke is im playing Mario… — Katie Creith (@CapnCreith) July 14, 2014
But eventually the internet, as always, boils down to stereotypes:
And with that another truly historic anniversary is treated to the modern internet experience.
Main image via Shutterstock
