DCHP-3

St. Jean Baptiste Day

DCHP-2 (Oct 2016)

Spelling variants:
Saint Jean Baptiste Day, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, St. Jean Baptiste day

n. — Quebec, Social customs

the former name of the Fête Nationale of Quebec, which is held on June 24th, the feast day of St. John the Baptist.

Type: 4. Culturally Significant — The first recorded celebration of a St. Jean Baptiste Day in Canada occurred as early as 1636 and was reported in the Journal des Jésuites. The Jesuits report that a fire was lit in honour of Saint John on June 24th. Saint John the Baptist would later become the patron saint of Quebec (see Canadian Encyclopedia, s.v. "St-Jean-Baptiste celebrations"). The Fête de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste was founded in 1834, and journalists began encouraging its celebration. In 1977, the celebration was made an official statutory holiday (see Canadian Encyclopedia, s.v. "La Fête Nationale Du Québec [Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day]"). The holiday is an important and unifying national celebration in Quebec. St. Jean Baptiste Day is a lexical transfer from Quebec French; in English it is not translated to "Saint John the Baptist Day", but has retained its French spelling, said usually with the French pronunciation followed by the English word day. The term is most prevalent in Canada (see Chart 1), and within Canada it is most frequent in Quebec (see Chart 2).
See also COD-2, s.v. "Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day", and Gage-5, s.v. "St. Jean Baptiste Day", which are marked "Cdn".

Quotations

1870
ST. JEAN BAPTISTE DAY.- Friday, 24th ult., St. Jean Baptiste Day, the national Festival of our French Canadian population, was observed by them as a partial holiday. Many of the shops were closed, and they as well as many of the private houses were decorated with flags and the national emblem, the Maple.
1894
On the 21st I visited St. Jean, on the Red River, where I met yourself and Mr. Wm. Thompson of the Farmer's Advocate. It being St. Jean Baptiste day, the attention of the people was given so much to the amusements for the day, that it was impossible for the president of the Farmer's Institute to get a meeting of the members at the hour appointed [...]
1913
ST JEAN BAPTISTE DAY OBSERVED WITH ECLAT FIVE THOUSAND IN STREET PARADE AT QUEBEC-CHURCH CROWDED
1924
English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh and French soldiers serving in Units of the Canadian Militia may wear their respective National flowers in the headdress on the days specified below:- St. George's Day... English soldiers. St Patrick's Day... Irish soldiers. St. Andrew's Day... Scottish soldiers. St. David's Day... Welsh soldiers. St Jean Baptiste Day... French soldiers.
1943
French Canadians today celebrated St. Jean Baptiste Day, feast day of their patron saint, with parades and other ceremonies while Government offices and many stores remained closed. The celebration was province-wide.
1968
Montreal policeman keeps a tight grip on a demonstrator during separatist rioting sparked by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's visit to St. Jean Baptiste Day parade.
1980
Jacques Lanctot and Paul Rose, involved in the Cross and Laporte kidnappings, had been arrested at the raucous demonstration during the St. Jean Baptiste Day celebration in 1968.
2008
The calendar, which was sent out to employees earlier this month, does not include Fete nationale du Quebec, also known as Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, which falls on June 24 of each year.
2013
However, as regards defending tradition, O Canada doesn't really have much of one to defend. The original French version was commissioned by Quebec Lieutenant Governor Theodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day celebration, and written by Calixa Lavallee, who adapted a French Canadian patriotic poem by judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. Robert Stanley Weir wrote the English lyric eventually settled on in 1908, but not as a literal translation. Much was lost in the process, and incidentally, the real original 1880 French version has plenty to offend political correctness! Reportedly, there were more than 40 different English versions early on.

References

Images

Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 9 Dec. 2013

Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 9 Dec. 2013

Chart 2: Regional Domain Search, 9 Dec. 2013

Chart 2: Regional Domain Search, 9 Dec. 2013