In the pantheon of strange and politically motivated holidays, few can match the fascinating story of St. Napoleona Day. This celebration offers a remarkable window into how political leaders can manipulate religious and cultural traditions to solidify their power, as well as how holidays evolve to shape national identity and historical memory.

The Birth of a “Saint”

The story begins not with Napoleon Bonaparte himself, but with his nephew, Louis-Napoleon (later Napoleon III). In 1852, as President of France, Louis-Napoleon declared that August 15—Napoleon Bonaparte’s birthday—would be celebrated as France’s national day. This was the first in a series of attempts to “Bonapartize” his regime and strengthen its popular legitimacy as he prepared to establish the Second Empire.

But who was Saint Napoleon? The answer reveals the creative historical manipulation at work. There was no widely recognized Saint Napoleon in the Catholic calendar. Instead, Napoleon’s regime identified an obscure Egyptian martyr named Neopolus, who had been tortured to death in Alexandria during the Roman Emperor Diocletian’s reign. By conveniently renaming this martyr “Napoleon” and scheduling his feast day to coincide with the Emperor’s birthday, a new religious-political holiday was born. The Alexandria connection was particularly clever, as it allowed Napoleon to present his bloody campaign in Egypt and Syria (1789-1801) as a triumph of Enlightenment values—a masterful propaganda achievement.

Creating a National Celebration

The establishment of St. Napoleona Day represents one of the earliest examples of modern political leadership deliberately crafting a national holiday to serve political purposes. This celebration combined multiple elements:

1. Religious Legitimacy: By connecting himself to Catholic tradition and the Assumption of Mary, Napoleon shrewdly appealed to the religious sentiments of the French population while reinforcing the Concordat he had established with the Catholic Church in 1801.
2. Personal Glorification: The holiday elevated Napoleon’s personal status by associating his birthday with both religious sanctity and national importance.
3. Revolutionary Transformation: Napoleon had already suppressed the Republican calendar and ordered a return to the Gregorian calendar in January 1806, effectively erasing another symbol of the Revolution. Under the Republican calendar, his birthday had fallen on 28 Thermidor, the “day of the wolf”—hardly a flattering association.
4. Civic Unity: Across France, public institutions used the holiday to draw local citizens together to celebrate civic ideals of unity, order, and patriotism, though this new sense of French togetherness was fraught with tensions.

The Evolution and Legacy of the Holiday

The significance of August 15th evolved considerably through different periods of French history:

Under the First Empire (1804-1814/15)

As Napoleon’s power grew, his birthday celebrations became increasingly spectacular. Year after year, the festivities grew more elaborate, with military parades, fireworks, public feasts, and the unveiling of monuments. The holiday served as a powerful instrument for building a cult of personality around the Emperor.

After Napoleon’s Fall

Following Napoleon’s defeat and exile, the restored Bourbon monarchy naturally suppressed the celebration. The holiday vanished from official calendars, though Napoleon’s supporters may have continued to mark it privately.

Revival Under the Second Empire (1852-1870)

Louis-Napoleon’s revival of the holiday in 1852 marked a deliberate attempt to connect his rule with his uncle’s legacy. Under the Second Empire, Saint-Napoleon festivities became a significant cultural and political event. Public institutions across France organized elaborate celebrations, though these were sometimes contested by local social, political, and religious groups. In various regions, people used the national day to celebrate their own communities and to honor their hometown veterans; elsewhere, republican sentiment clashed sharply with imperial attitudes.

Shaping Historical Memory

The creation and celebration of St. Napoleona Day played a crucial role in shaping French historical memory and national identity throughout the 19th century and beyond:

1. Napoleonic Nostalgia: The holiday helped cultivate nostalgia for the Napoleonic era, particularly during periods of national uncertainty. It created an idealized version of Napoleon’s rule that emphasized glory, stability, and national pride while downplaying the costs of constant warfare.
2. Political Divisions: The holiday also reflected and reinforced France’s deep political divisions. Hazareesingh notes that the state’s Bonapartist identity was “at times vigorously contested by local social, political, and religious groups.” The revival of republican sentiment in some areas “clashed sharply with imperial attitudes.”
3. Modern Nation-Building: The holiday serves as an early example of how modern nation-states use celebrations and commemorations to build national identity. The Saint-Napoleon festivities raise broader questions about “the nature of the French state, unity and lines of fracture in society, changing boundaries between public and private spheres, and the role of myth and memory in constructing nationhood.”
4. Template for Modern Holidays: St. Napoleona Day created a template for politically-motivated national holidays that would be emulated by regimes throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. It demonstrated how effective the combination of personal leadership cult, religious tradition, and patriotic celebration could be in building political legitimacy.

Conclusion: The Birth of Modern Political Celebrations

The creation of St. Napoleona Day represents a fascinating case study in how modern political holidays are born and evolve. By inventing a saint, appropriating a religious feast day, and creating elaborate national celebrations, both Napoleon I and Napoleon III demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of how ritual and celebration can serve political ends.

The holiday’s legacy extends beyond France, providing a model for how political regimes can use public celebrations to reinforce their legitimacy, shape historical memory, and build national identity. In today’s world, where national holidays continue to be contested political terrain, the curious tale of St. Napoleona offers valuable insights into the complex relationship between politics, religion, and public celebration.

While August 15 remains a national holiday in modern France, it is now primarily celebrated as the Feast of the Assumption, with Napoleon’s connection largely forgotten in official observances. Yet the story of St. Napoleona remains a compelling example of how holidays are created and reimagined to serve the political needs of their time, and how they continue to shape our understanding of history long after their original purpose has faded.

Resources for Further Reading

Books

• Hazareesingh, Sudhir. The Saint-Napoleon: Celebrations of Sovereignty in Nineteenth-Century France. Harvard University Press, 2004. (The definitive academic study of the Saint-Napoleon festivities and their political and cultural significance)
• Englund, Steven. Napoleon: A Political Life. Harvard University Press, 2004. (Excellent coverage of Napoleon’s political strategies, including his religious policies)
• Tulard, Jean. Napoleon: The Myth of the Saviour. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1984. (Classic study of Napoleon’s image-making and the development of the Napoleonic legend)
• Price, Munro. Napoleon: The End of Glory. Oxford University Press, 2014. (Insightful analysis of Napoleon’s fall and the subsequent shaping of his legacy)

Articles and Online Resources

• “Imperial decree concerning the feast of Saint Napoleon and that of the re-establishment of the Catholic religion in France (19 February 1806)” – Available on the Fondation Napoléon website (napoleon.org)
• Fondation Napoléon (napoleon.org) – Contains numerous articles, timelines, and resources on both Napoleon I and Napoleon III
• The Napoleon Series (napoleon-series.org) – Online resource with articles covering many aspects of the Napoleonic era

Museums and Collections

• Musée de l’Armée, Hôtel des Invalides, Paris – Houses Napoleon’s tomb and extensive collections related to his military campaigns
• Château de Malmaison, Rueil-Malmaison – Napoleon and Josephine’s residence, now a museum with period furnishings and artwork
• Musée Napoléon, Brienne-le-Château – Located in the military school where the young Napoleon studied

Digital Archives

• Bibliothèque nationale de France (Gallica) – Digital archives containing periodicals, images, and documents from the Napoleonic period, including materials related to celebrations and commemorations
• Archives nationales de France – Contains official records of the Napoleonic administration, including materials related to the establishment of imperial holidays