  Insight into the origin of unusual events like the eruption of V838 Mon can
be obtained from studies of the stellar populations from which they arise. V838
Mon lies in an intriguing region of the Galaxy, toward the warped outer edge of
the disk, with significant contributions from the Galactic thick disk and the
recently discovered Monoceros tidal stream. The initial distance measures
placed V838 Mon in a jumbled region of the Galaxy but the recent shorter
distances make it highly likely that V838 Mon was a thin disk star -- likely in
a spiral arm -- consistent with the recent detection of a young cluster in the
vicinity. We compare V838 Mon to M31-RV, a red variable that erupted in the
bulge of M31 in 1988 and had a peak luminosity and spectral evolution very
similar to V838 Mon. Archival HST images show no nebulosity or unusual stars at
M31-RV's projected location. Moreover, the only stellar population in the field
is a canonic old bulge population. This indicates that whatever the origin of
the red novae, the mechanism is likely independent of age and progenitor mass.
In particular, the B3V star seen in V838 Mon it not a necessary part of the
eruption mechanism.
