Bastille Day
The "Fête de la Fédération"on 14 July 1790 was a celebration of the unity of the French nation during the French Revolution. The aim of this celebration, one year after the Storming of the Bastille, was to symbolise peace. The event took place on the Champ de Mars, which was located far outside of Paris at the time. The work needed to transform the Champ de Mars into a suitable location for the celebration was not on schedule to be completed in time. On the day recalled as the Journée des brouettes ("The Day of the Wheelbarrow"), thousands of Parisian citizens gathered together to finish the construction needed for the celebration.
Paris under Napoleon
Besides the official holidays, Parisians again celebrated the full range of religious holidays, which had been abolished during the Revolution. The celebration of Carnival, and masked balls, which had been forbidden during the Revolution, resumed, though under careful police supervision. On Mardi Gras thousands of Parisians in masks and costumes filled the streets, on foot, horseback and in carriages. The 15th of August became a new holiday, the Festival of Saint-Napoleon. It marked the birthday of the Emperor, the Catholic festival of the Assumption, and the anniversary of the Concordat, signed by Napoleon and the Pope on that day in 1801, which allowed the churches of France to reopen. In 1806 the Pope was persuaded to make it an official religious holiday, but its celebration ended with the downfall of the Emperor.