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nThisnis a weird “holiday.” It commemorates a bad belief, or maybe annunfortunate personality trait!
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nHavenyou ever wondered where the word “chauvinism” comes from?n(Actually, have you ever heard the word “chauvinism” before?)
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nAnchauvinist is someone who loudly and aggressively says blindlynpatriotic things—you know, the things that boil down to “myncountry is always right.” A chauvinist may also be unreasonablynenthusiastic about military glory.
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| The “Give it to your wife…It’s her job” part of this label is an example of male chauvinism. |
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nThenword “chauvinist” has now been generalized for anyone who isnoverly, absurdly enthusiastic about his or her own religion, ethnicngroup, sex, or any other group—if that person’s devotion is biasednand especially if it spills over into disparagement of othernreligions or groups, or patronization of the opposite sex.
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nSo,nwhere did the word come from? n
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Innthe late 1700s a man named Napoleon Bonaparte rose to fame as ansuccessful military leader of the French armed forces. In the earlyn1800s he declared himself Emperor of the French. One of Napoleon’snsoldiers idolized him so greatly that this soldier eventually becamenridiculous and the butt of others’ jokes. This soldier often andnloudly proclaimed blind devotion and loyalty to Napoleon and tonanything French—and he was named Nicholas Chauvin.
Innthe late 1700s a man named Napoleon Bonaparte rose to fame as ansuccessful military leader of the French armed forces. In the earlyn1800s he declared himself Emperor of the French. One of Napoleon’snsoldiers idolized him so greatly that this soldier eventually becamenridiculous and the butt of others’ jokes. This soldier often andnloudly proclaimed blind devotion and loyalty to Napoleon and tonanything French—and he was named Nicholas Chauvin.n
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It’snnot many of us who get our names memorialized in a word in thendictionary. In this case, it is not an honor!
It’snnot many of us who get our names memorialized in a word in thendictionary. In this case, it is not an honor!n
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nBynthe way, nobody knows when Nicholas Chauvin was born, so Chauvin Daynis held on the birthday of Napoleon.
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nOh,nand one more thing: some historians are skeptical that Chauvinnever really existed. He may be a fictional character that people whonwere sick of Bonapartism created! n
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nAnlegendary character that never ever existed is called apocryphal.nOf course, it’s difficult to know if people like King Arthur andnRobin Hood are based on someone who really lived (or, more likely,nmore than one person who really lived) or are wholly apocryphal,nbecause their legends concern times from the Sixth and FourteenthnCenturies. I would think that it would be a bit easier to figure outnif Chauvin really lived, because Napoleonic times were only a fewncenturies ago; the fact that some historians think he didn’t existnmakes me think that there is no evidence—no birth certificate, nonwritten military records—that he did.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nAnniversary of the opening of the Panama Canal
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nTown festivals in Andorra
