Each year on June 24, thousands of Quebecois take to the streets of their home province in celebration of la fête nationale—or Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day.
While the day is a statutory holiday in Quebec and is often considered one of the province’s most celebrated annual events, the Jasper chapter of the Association Canadienne-Française de l’Alberta (ACFA) said the day can also be a day for Canadians to rejoice in French culture from around the world.
“Saint-Jean-Baptiste is always known as this huge Quebecois celebration only for the people of Quebec, but here in Jasper it’s not about that—everyone is welcome to celebrate,” said Jasper’s ACFA regional director Geneviève Arcand. “We’re here in a national park that is bilingual and we do have a lot of Francophones from Quebec, but we also have Francophones from Ontario, New Brunswick, France—from all over and we want to celebrate that in Jasper.”
For years the ACFA has been holding events in celebration of Saint-Jean-Baptiste. This time around, the association has organized a camping excursion at Whirlpool Campground, June 24. The event is open to everyone and all attendees are invited to bring their own snacks and drinks. People also have the option to stay at the campground for the night, at $5 a person or $10 for a family. Arcand said after a barbecue, the evening will turn into a marshmallow roasting bonfire accompanied by a live Francophone jam session.
“It’s going to be so much fun. We want it to be a big party that is very relaxed where people can come together and learn about Francophone culture,” Arcand said. “We’re going to be playing all different types of Francophone music.”
In the past Arcand said the ACFA’s Saint-Jean-Baptiste celebrations had been very Quebecois focused, but this year they are striving for a more inclusive event.
“Last year we had everything blue and white for Quebec, but then we had people showing up who weren’t from Quebec or who weren’t even Francophone, but just enjoy the language and the culture and wanted to celebrate that,” Arcand said. “We live in such a small place so it’s important to share all of our cultures.
“Culture is part of a community and if you don’t have culture then you don’t have anything.”
It is believed Saint-Jean-Baptiste was first celebrated in France as Christianity spread through the region during the fifth century. Traditionally, bonfires would be lit on the eve of June 24 in order to honour the saint.
Thanks to French colonists the festivities made their way to Canada, where the first celebration can be traced back to 1646. Over time, the festival lost importance, but in 1834, the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste was created in Quebec, bringing some gumption back to the event.
By 1908, Saint Jean Baptiste was named the patron saint of French-speaking Canadians. And a few years later, St-Jean-Baptiste Day became a provincial holiday in Quebec, and in 1977, it was declared an official holiday in Quebec.
Arcand said she hopes local celebrations like the Saint-Jean-Baptiste event will encourage more people to get immersed in French culture and its language.
“I think especially if kids see that learning another language can be fun then they’ll want to be bilingual,” Arcand said. “But also we recognize that if you want to keep a language and a culture alive then you have to do events like this and continue to invite everyone to be a part of it.”
For more information about the ACFA’s Saint-Jean-Baptiste celebration or to register for the camping excursion at Whirlpool Campground visit the ACFA Jasper Facebook page.
Kayla Byrne [email protected]
