Almost feels like home.....if only they would stop trying to kill us!
Today we had the privilage of a "beer call". This normally means we fire up the BBQs grill some steaks and choke back 2 luke warm beers. Today it was to celebrate Saint Jean Baptist. Why is this a national celebration in Quebec? Is Saint Jean Baptist more then just a 4 day work week (for all of you i'm not so lucky)? Being a adopted Quebec'er I decided to find out. I asked 4 of my good Quebecois freinds why we celebrated Saint Jean Baptist Day and what Saint Jean Baptist did to get such recognition from us once a year.....well none of them could give me an answer so I decided to find one myself.
"Once made a statutory holiday, June 24 officially became a holiday for all Québécois rather than only those of French-Canadian or Catholic origins. Celebrations of the day were gradually secularized, primarily due to actions taken by the MNQ, and June 23 and 24 became as we now know them. While the religious significance of the celebration is gone, the day remains popularly called la St-Jean-Baptiste or simply la St-Jean."
Answer: The English Catholics had St Patricks day (excellent excuse to ruin your liver in the middle of March) so the French Catholics felt that "tabarnak, we need a day to get gased too!" Thus St. Jean Baptist Day was been chosen as the National Holiday of Quebec....why Jean the Baptist was chosen? Who knows but its another hell of a good excuse to ruin a liver!
Here's to John the Baptist!
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