St-Jean-Baptiste Society

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St-Jean-Baptiste Society (Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste), French Canadian patriotic association founded 24 June 1834 by journalist Ludger Duvernay, who wanted to stimulate a nationalist spirit among his compatriots and encourage them to defend their linguistic and cultural heritage. Gradually, branches were established throughout Québec and in francophone communities elsewhere in N America. Placed under the patronage of St John the Baptist, the society has always organized special activities, originally with religious overtones, for June 24 (the saint's day), a legal holiday in Québec since 1922.

The society distributes prizes for artistic and literary merit, and since the 1920s has sponsored annual parades on June 24 with themes such as "Homage to the Patriotes of 1837." It has engaged in various financial activities and has produced numerous briefs and resolutions on subjects of nationalist, linguistic and constitutional interest to Francophones.

Early in the 20th century the society gave both monetary and moral support to Francophones in Ontario, where bilingual education had been abolished. Its attention later shifted away from francophone minorities outside Québec, and in the 1960s it became principally concerned with Québec nationalism. Since the 1960s, the society's activities have become largely secularized.

Author RICHARD JONES


Links to Other Sites
Virtual Museum of Canada
A searchable gateway to a vast online collection of multimedia exhibits about Canadian history and heritage. See also a diverse collection of image galleries, learning resources, and information about museums and related institutions across Canada.

Keys to History
Search this "Keys to History" website for fascinating online exhibits about notable people, places, and events in Canadian history. From Montréal's McCord Museum.

Ludger Duvernay
A biography of Ludger Duvernay from the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day
A brief description of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, a Québec holiday. From the Canadian Heritage website.

Origin of the festival of Saint-Jean-Baptiste
Read a digitized copy of the 1880 book "Origin of the festival of Saint-Jean-Baptiste." Click on the page images to flip through the book. From the Internet Archive website.

Champlain, others to loom large in St. Jean Baptiste parade
A news story about highlights of Montréal's St. Jean Baptiste festivities. From canada.com.

Huge parade marks Quebec's Fete nationale holiday
A CTV News report about celerations for Fete nationale in Québec and at Canadian military bases in far-flung Afghanistan.

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