The seasons of Midsummer's Day
Clearly, our religious roots remain very much alive. This stubbornness in naming Saint-Jean-Baptiste, a celebration which since 1977 proudly bears the title of national holiday, must mean something. When a journalist talks about Saint-Jean, he is called to order. Nothing works. We reoffend. The name is embedded in the collective unconscious, a halo as a bonus.
For a long time, accompanied by a sheep, a young boy with curly hair representing the prophet of the New Testament dominated the very Catholic procession through the streets of Quebec. Even Robert Charlebois, who will sing Thursday during the virtual edition of the national holiday, had been in his childhood one of those little frizzies featured in a "parade".
In New France, the feast, coinciding with the summer solstice and its bonfires, was already celebrated. As early as 1908, Pope Pius X offered the presumed cousin of Jesus the title of patron of French Canadians. As for the sheep, it will soon have put red on our foreheads, through the recognized passivity of its species. Thus, after the Quiet Revolution, children and ruminants took refuge, supplanted by the statue of an adult man on his allegorical chariot. Then, the parade was tied to more secular festivities often with a political flavor.
Many have fond memories of that celebration. Some were present in 1968 when Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau was attacked by a group of independentists in Montreal during the celebrations. The following year, a statue of Saint John the Baptist was destroyed on June 24 by members of the Popular Liberation Front.
To me, the name first evokes the Plains of Abraham, with the spectacle of Vigneault, Ferland, Deschamps, Léveillée and Charlebois. Also, later, on Mount Royal, these huge drunken and smoky crowds feasting, fleur-de-lis in hand… before leaving their rubbish on a devastated site. In 1977, René Lévesque proclaimed June 24 the feast of all Quebecers. Yet many newcomers and members of other historic communities, especially Anglophones, yet in multiethnic neighborhood meetings, feel left out of a celebration of togetherness. We do not say they are completely wrong. The cradle of New France, the uprisings of the patriots and the independence fever remain associated with our national holiday, as with its religious heritage. Moreover, it is important to revive its roots.
Again this year, under the theme "Living tightly woven Quebec", the expression refers, despite the inclusive wishes of the organizers, to the famous strain. They may well insist on miscegenation, but this day remains, against all odds, that of the “French Canadians” of yesteryear and their allies. It would be underestimating the strength of its DNA to refuse to recognize its obvious tribal side. Some people ask me: And why not? We have the right to our own party. Yes ? No ? One thing is certain, the observation remains: the message has changed by aiming for openness, without undermining the classic significance of this Saint-Jean.
For a second consecutive year, in order to respect the distancing measures, despite some outdoor activities, the big show will be virtual. Televised on June 24, from Manoir Richelieu in Charlevoix. More than 200 artists, including Charlebois, Samian, Gregory Charles, Raôul Duguay, Marie-Mai, Janette Bertrand, Fred Pellerin, Kim Thúy, Cœur de pirate, Corneille. The strain, but alongside family favorites, including recently adopted and pampered First Nations people.
I do not know if the pandemic has united or divided Quebecers from one origin or the other, even if this Saint-Jean wants to celebrate "a collective force in the storm". Time will tell if the tightly woven fabric holds up or frayed after the test. I also do not know if this show, broadcast without the brotherhood of shoulder to shoulder, will transmit to the home the great thrill of identity pride.
We wish it all, without being sure of anything.
Because our society has changed with this withdrawal of confinement, the accelerated decline of French, the desire shared by many young people to merge into the great all Anglophone. As for the movement woke , with its realizations and the perverse effects of its amnesias, it is blowing the wind elsewhere. The dream of independence has faltered.
Unless there are unleashed variants, this party will not really be one until 2022, with the reunion in the whites of the eyes. In the meantime, Midsummer Day keeps its deep sources, but how will it face a future with codes so different from the layout of its history? And then, it always goes very quickly, one day a year ...
For a long time, accompanied by a sheep, a young boy with curly hair representing the prophet of the New Testament dominated the very Catholic procession through the streets of Quebec. Even Robert Charlebois, who will sing Thursday during the virtual edition of the national holiday, had been in his childhood one of those little frizzies featured in a "parade".
In New France, the feast, coinciding with the summer solstice and its bonfires, was already celebrated. As early as 1908, Pope Pius X offered the presumed cousin of Jesus the title of patron of French Canadians. As for the sheep, it will soon have put red on our foreheads, through the recognized passivity of its species. Thus, after the Quiet Revolution, children and ruminants took refuge, supplanted by the statue of an adult man on his allegorical chariot. Then, the parade was tied to more secular festivities often with a political flavor.
Many have fond memories of that celebration. Some were present in 1968 when Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau was attacked by a group of independentists in Montreal during the celebrations. The following year, a statue of Saint John the Baptist was destroyed on June 24 by members of the Popular Liberation Front.
To me, the name first evokes the Plains of Abraham, with the spectacle of Vigneault, Ferland, Deschamps, Léveillée and Charlebois. Also, later, on Mount Royal, these huge drunken and smoky crowds feasting, fleur-de-lis in hand… before leaving their rubbish on a devastated site. In 1977, René Lévesque proclaimed June 24 the feast of all Quebecers. Yet many newcomers and members of other historic communities, especially Anglophones, yet in multiethnic neighborhood meetings, feel left out of a celebration of togetherness. We do not say they are completely wrong. The cradle of New France, the uprisings of the patriots and the independence fever remain associated with our national holiday, as with its religious heritage. Moreover, it is important to revive its roots.
Again this year, under the theme "Living tightly woven Quebec", the expression refers, despite the inclusive wishes of the organizers, to the famous strain. They may well insist on miscegenation, but this day remains, against all odds, that of the “French Canadians” of yesteryear and their allies. It would be underestimating the strength of its DNA to refuse to recognize its obvious tribal side. Some people ask me: And why not? We have the right to our own party. Yes ? No ? One thing is certain, the observation remains: the message has changed by aiming for openness, without undermining the classic significance of this Saint-Jean.
For a second consecutive year, in order to respect the distancing measures, despite some outdoor activities, the big show will be virtual. Televised on June 24, from Manoir Richelieu in Charlevoix. More than 200 artists, including Charlebois, Samian, Gregory Charles, Raôul Duguay, Marie-Mai, Janette Bertrand, Fred Pellerin, Kim Thúy, Cœur de pirate, Corneille. The strain, but alongside family favorites, including recently adopted and pampered First Nations people.
I do not know if the pandemic has united or divided Quebecers from one origin or the other, even if this Saint-Jean wants to celebrate "a collective force in the storm". Time will tell if the tightly woven fabric holds up or frayed after the test. I also do not know if this show, broadcast without the brotherhood of shoulder to shoulder, will transmit to the home the great thrill of identity pride.
We wish it all, without being sure of anything.
Because our society has changed with this withdrawal of confinement, the accelerated decline of French, the desire shared by many young people to merge into the great all Anglophone. As for the movement woke , with its realizations and the perverse effects of its amnesias, it is blowing the wind elsewhere. The dream of independence has faltered.
Unless there are unleashed variants, this party will not really be one until 2022, with the reunion in the whites of the eyes. In the meantime, Midsummer Day keeps its deep sources, but how will it face a future with codes so different from the layout of its history? And then, it always goes very quickly, one day a year ...
Odile Tremblay
LEDEVOIR
https://www.ledevoir.com/opinion/chroniques/613188/les-saisons-de-la-saint-jean?utm_source=infolettre-2021-06-23&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=infolettre-quotidienne
LEDEVOIR
https://www.ledevoir.com/opinion/chroniques/613188/les-saisons-de-la-saint-jean?utm_source=infolettre-2021-06-23&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=infolettre-quotidienne