St Jean Baptiste Day

Across the whole of Canada, but especially in the Province of Quebec, French Canadians express their pride and rich heritage with lively parties and colourful parades on St Jean Baptiste Day each year – the 24th June.

The Day is one of the "Celebrate Canada" days, which fall between 21st June and 1st July each year. The festivities combine the ancient rites of the Summer Solstice – a time of light and hope across the world – with the traditional celebration of the Patron Saint of French Canadians.

Although celebrated for many years, this day was only included in the Celebrate Canada series in 1996. In Quebec, where it is known as the Quebec Nation Holiday – Fête national du Québec – the festivities usually begin on the evening of 23rd July and continue throughout the night in many places, and all day long on the 24th July.

St Jean Baptiste Day (St John The Baptist Day) only has official holiday status in Quebec, and is a day of awareness and recognition in the rest of Canada, as are National Aboriginal Day (21st June) and Canadian Multiculturalism Day (27th June) each year.

The origins of the festival, which has strong Roman Catholic links, are more than 2,000 years old, pre-dating Christianity and related to the early European pagan Summer Solstice festivities. With the arrival of Christianity the festivities continued but, with a different focus and spiritual meaning.

The festival came to Canada with the French settlers, although it was not celebrated in any organised way until the 1830s. However, after the Lower Canada Rebellion (1837-1838), the celebrations ceased for a while before being resurrected in the 1840s following the establishment of the Association Saint Jean Baptiste, and with the support of the Roman Catholic Church. The processions and parades, with allegorical floats, were introduced in the 1870s. With the exception of 1914-1923, the tradition has continued unbroken (with the exception of 1970) since those times.

The Canadian National Anthem – "O Canada" – which was officially adopted in 1980, was originally commissioned by the Saint Jean Baptiste Society (the former Association) and performed in Quebec at the 1880 National Congress of French Canadians.

The day is officially for celebration by all Quebecers although the majority French community (approximately 75% of the Province’s population) tend to be more enthusiastic in their festivities.

With the largely Anglophile and immigrant-supported Canada Day celebrated on 1st July, one week later, there has been some intense but unofficial rivalry, between the Quebec government and the Federal government as to wich can provide the best and most spectacular festivities and outdoor concerts.

If you're looking for a way to commemorate this event, you might be interested in this article: Commemorations with Cross Stitch

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