Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (), also known in English as ''St John the Baptist Day'', is a holiday celebrated on June 24 in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. It was brought to Canada by French settlers celebrating the traditional

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. It was declared a public holiday in QuebecQuébec 'national Holiday Act' defining the holiday, http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=2&file=%2F%2FF_1_1%2FF1_1_A.htmGouvernement du Québec.
National Holiday
", in the site of the ''Commission des normes du travail'', June 17, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2008Gouvernement du Québec.

, in ''CanLII'', Federation of Law Societies of Canada, updated to May 1, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2008 in 1925, with publicly financed events organized province-wide by a ''Comité organisateur de la fête nationale du Québec''.

Origins

The tradition landed in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

with the first French colonists. The first mention of celebrations of Saint-Jean-Baptiste in North America dates back to 1606, when settlers en route to the future Acadia rested on the coast of Newfoundland, June 23. The second mention of celebrations, according to the Jesuit ''Relations'', occurred on the banks of the Saint Lawrence River on the evening of June 23, 1636, with a bonfire and five cannon shots. The green, white and red tricolour used by the between 1832 and 1838 In

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

, the celebration of the nativity of St. John the Baptist took a patriotic tone in 1834 on the initiative of one of the founders of the newspaper '' La Minerve'', Ludger Duvernay, who would later become the first president of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society. In the spring of 1834, Duvernay and other ''patriotes'' attended the celebrations of the first St. Patrick's Day, the celebration of the Irish diaspora, in Montreal. This would give him and others the idea of organizing something similar for all the '' Canadiens'' and their friends. On that June 24,

George-Étienne Cartier Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, (pronounced ; September 6, 1814May 20, 1873) was a Canadians, Canadian statesman and Fathers of Confederation, Father of Confederation. The English spelling of the name—George, instead of Georges, th ...

's "'' Ô Canada! mon pays, mes amours''" was first sung during a grand patriotic banquet gathering about sixty

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

s and anglophones of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, in the gardens of lawyer John McDonnell, near the old Windsor Station. The ''Canada'' in the song refers to

, today's southern Quebec. Rounds of toasts went to the ''Parti patriote'', the United States, Ireland, and the Ninety-Two Resolutions. Two days later, ''La Minerve'' concluded: "This holiday, whose goal is to solidify the union of the ''Canadiens'', will not go without bearing fruit. It will be celebrated annually as a national holiday and will not miss producing the happiest results." The celebration recurred in 1835, 1836, 1837. Following the defeat of the insurrectional movement during the Lower Canada Rebellion and the military repressions which followed, the day was not celebrated for several years. Drapeau Carillon Sacré-Cœur: A Carillon flag waved by people on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day from its creation in 1902 until 1948. The current flag of Quebec is based on this design, and was adopted in 1948. In 1834, Duvernay established the charitable Association Saint-Jean Baptiste in order to have the Saint-Jean-Baptiste celebrated that year. The association was chartered in 1849 with the mission of promoting social and moral progress. (See Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society.) The celebrations were supported by the Catholic Church and were primarily religious around that time. The lighting of bonfires, a traditional custom on the Nativity of Saint John which ultimately reached back to pre-Christian

Midsummer Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer, taking place on or near the date of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere; the longest Daytime, day of the year. The name "midsummer" mainly refers to summer solstice festivals of Eu ...

celebrations were still lit at night. In addition, the first Saint-Jean-Baptiste parades were organized. They became an important tradition over time. The procession of allegorical floats was introduced in 1874. On June 24, 1880, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society organized the gathering of all francophone communities across North America. The event was the first National Congress of French Canadians (''Congrès national des Canadiens français''). On this occasion, the citizens of

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

were the first ones to hear the "'' Ô Canada''" of Calixa Lavallée, based on a poem by a Quebec Superior Court judge, Adolphe-Basile Routhier. The song was commissioned by the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society. It was well received but did not become a widely known song for many years. English words were later written for a royal tour in 1901. In 1980, "O Canada" became the official national anthem of Canada. In 1908, Pope Pius X designated St. John the Baptist as the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of French Canadians. From 1914 to 1923 the processions were not held. In 1925, 91 years after the Ludger Duvernay's banquet in Montreal, June 24 became provincially a legal holiday in Quebec.

The ''Fête nationale''

Parliament Building in

on the eve of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day In Quebec, June 24 (Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day), or Provincial Holiday, is officially a paid Public holidays in Canada, statutory public holiday covered under the ''Act Respecting Labour Standards''. In 1977, an

Order in Council An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom, this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' ...

by Lieutenant Governor Hugues Lapointe, on the advice of

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

René Lévesque, declared June 24 the provincial holiday in Quebec. The following year, the National Holiday Organizing Committee () was created. The committee initially entrusted the organization of the events to the ''Société des festivals populaires du Québec''. In 1984, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the SSJB, the organization of the celebrations was entrusted to the sovereigntist '' Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois'' (MNQ). By making it a statutory holiday, the day became a holiday for all Quebecers rather than only those of French-Canadian or Catholic origins. Celebrations were gradually secularized, primarily due to actions taken by the MNQ, and June 23 and 24 became as they are now known. Many festivities take place on the night before the holiday proper. While the religious significance of the civic celebration is gone, the day remains popularly called ''la St-Jean-Baptiste'' or simply ''la St-Jean'' (notably by businesses), and is still observed in churches. In 2010 and 2011, Franco-Ontarian New Democratic MP Claude Gravelle introduced a private member's bill in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

to recognize Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day as a federal holiday in Canada.

Political nature of the celebration

During and immediately after the Quiet Revolution, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day became highly politicized. The religious symbolism associated with the celebrations was replaced by political ideals of Quebec

separatism Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, regional, governmental, or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seekin ...

. Governor General Georges Vanier, who, as

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

, had always fostered unity and biculturalism, found himself the target of Quebec sovereigntists in

, on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, 1964, wherein a group of sovereigntists held placards reading "''Vanier vendu''" ("Vanier the sell-out") and "''Vanier fou de la Reine''" ("Vanier, jester to the Queen"). Four years later, with the new Prime Minister

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

in attendance on the eve of a general election, a riot broke out on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day. A group of agitators threw bottles at the Prime Minister in an effort to make him feel unwelcome at the ceremony. Trudeau was filmed refusing to take cover or leave the grandstand, saying that he was a Québécois and would not be intimidated by a drunken mob. The scene was broadcast on Télévision de Radio-Canada's and CBC's evening news. Many saw it as an open act of courage, and the Prime Minister's defiance impressed the electorate and contributed to his

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

winning a significant majority the next day. During the French-language network SRC's televised coverage of the 1969 Montreal parade, filmmakers Bernard Gosselin and Pierre Perrault were asked to withdraw from the airwaves after nationalist and sarcastic comments. At one point they suggested the creation of a Ministry of Boastfulness and a High Commissioner of kvetching. There was a riot and the Saint-Jean-Baptiste icon was destroyed. This led to the interruption of the parade, which did not take place the next year. In June 2009, Quebec bands Lake of Stew and Bloodshot Bill, whose members are bilingual anglophone Quebecers, were added to the program of a local celebration in Montreal called ''L'Autre St-Jean'' ("The Other St-Jean"). When it became known that they would be performing their songs in English, there were several complaints and later the musicians were barred from the celebrations. The Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste President, Mario Beaulieu, defended the decision to cancel these musicians' performances, by stating that the

official language An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...

of the province of Quebec is French. However, after public outrage from both the anglophone and francophone communities, these two bands were returned to the program when it was clarified that the bands were free to sing songs in English as well as French. By government regulation, however, the St-Jean program must be conducted in French (even by such internationally and nationally famous anglophone artists such as Martha Wainwright and Patrick Watson). The festival has attempted to be more inclusive, as groups have sung in Creole and for the 2008 celebrations, Samian, "the world's first aboriginal

Algonquin language Algonquin (also spelled Algonkin; in Algonquin: or ) is either a distinct Algonquian languages, Algonquian language closely related to the Ojibwe language or a particularly divergent Ojibwe language dialects, Ojibwe dialect. It is spoken, alon ...

rapper", sang at Montreal's celebration. The Montreal Metro attempts to symbolize the inclusive nature of the celebration through the motto it displays on information screens on stations and on-board trains on Saint-Jean-Baptiste day: ''Bonne Saint-Jean-Baptiste à tous et à toutes avec surtout ce sentiment de se sentir membre à part entière de cette communauté québécoise diverse et fière!'' (English: "Happy Saint-Jean-Baptiste to one and all and especially the feeling of being an integral part of this diverse and proud Quebec community!"). In 2017, there was a controversy at the Fête nationale parade when a float featuring white performers was performing a popular Québécois anthem, and pushed by several black youths dressed in beige. Spectators interpreted the sight as racist, and symbolic of slavery.

Notes

References

;In English * Suzanne Thomas
Saint-Jean-Baptiste celebrations
in ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', 2013 * Gouvernement du Québec.

, in ''CanLII'', Federation of Law Societies of Canada, updated to May 1, 2008 * Gouvernement du Québec.

", in the site of the ''Commission des normes du travail'', June 17, 2008 * Le Moine, James MacPherson, ''Origin of the festival of Saint-Jean-Baptiste ...'', Québec: Morning Chronicle Office, 1880
online
;In French * Joly, Diane.
Les processions de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste à Montréal
, in ''Encyclopédie du patrimoine culturel de l'Amérique française'', July 21, 2008 * RDAQ.
La Saint-Jean-Baptiste
, in the site of the ''Réseau des services d'archives du Québec'', 2001 * Prémont, Donald. "24 juin 1834 – Le premier banquet de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste", in Les Patriotes de 1837@1838, March 10, 2000 * Nadeau, Claude,

", in Claudenadeau.net, 1998 (her personal Web site) * Bizier, Hélène-Andrée and Paulette, Claude (1997). ''Fleur de lys, d'hier à aujourd'hui'', Montréal: Édition Art Global, 158 p. () * Rumilly, Robert (1975). ''Histoire de la Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, des Patriotes au fleurdelysé, 1834–1948'', Montréal: Éditions de l'Aurore, 564 p. () * Vaugeois, Denis (1978). "La Saint-Jean, fête de la fierté", in ''Forces'', XLIII, 2nd quarter, 1978 * SSJBM (1926). ''Processions de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste en 1924 et 1925; ..', Montréal: L. Beauchemin, 315 p.
online
* SSJBM (1904). ''70ème anniversaire de l'Association nationale St-Jean-Baptiste, Montréal, 1834–1904'', Montréal: Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste, 66 p.
online
* SSJBQ (1902). ''Programme des fêtes du soixantenaire de la Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Québec, 1842–1902 : fête nationale des Candiens-français, lundi, 23 juin 1902'', Québec: Impr. Darveau, J. Baeuchamp, 16 p.
online
* SSJBM (1903). ''Souvenir patriotique de la St-Jean-Baptiste, 1903 : dédié aux familles canadiennes'', Montréal: Association Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, 44 p.
online
* SSJBM (1901). ''Souvenir de la fête de la St-Jean-Baptiste, 1901'', Montréal: Association Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, 32 p.
online
* Chouinard, H.-J.-J.-B. (1890). ''Fête nationale des Canadiens-français célébrée à Québec, 1881–1889'', Québec: L'Imprimerie Belleau & cie éditeurs, 537 p.
online
* SSJBM (1884). ''Souvenir de la St-Jean-Baptiste à Montréal, 1884'', Montréal: Canada Railway News Co., 48 p.
online
* Chouinard, H.-J.-J.-B. (1881). ''Fête nationale des Canadiens français célébrée à Québec en 1880'', Québec: L'Imprimerie A. Coté & cie éditeurs, 1881, 632 p.
online

External links

* * {{Quebec sovereignty movement Holidays in Quebec Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society Saint John's Day

Parades in Canada