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Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ((フランス語:Fête de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste)), officially known in Quebec as La fête nationale, ()〔Québec 'national Holiday Act' defining the holiday, http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=2&file=%2F%2FF_1_1%2FF1_1_A.htm〕 is a holiday celebrated annually on June 24, the feast day of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. In Quebec, it is a public holiday〔〔Gouvernement du Québec. "(National Holiday )", in the site of the ''Commission des normes du travail'', June 17, 2008, retrieved June 29, 2008〕〔Gouvernement du Québec. "(An Act Respecting Labour Standards )", in ''CanLII'', Federation of Law Societies of Canada, updated to May 1, 2008, retrieved June 29, 2008〕 with festivities occurring on June 23 and 24 which are publicly financed and organized by a ''Comité organisateur de la fête nationale'' (Organizing Committee of the National Holiday). June 24 is also celebrated as a festival of French Canadian culture in other Canadian provinces and the United States. ==Origins== (詳細はSaint John the Baptist or Midsummer was a very popular event in the ''Ancien Régime'' of France, and it is still celebrated as a religious feast day in several countries, like Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Spain, Latvia and Lithuania. The tradition landed in Canada with the first French colonists. According to the Jesuit ''Relations'', the first celebrations occurred on the banks of the Saint Lawrence River on the evening of June 23, 1636, with a bonfire and five cannon shots. In Lower Canada, the celebration of the nativity of St. John the Baptist took a patriotic tone in 1834 on the initiative of one of the founders of the newspaper ''La Minerve'', Ludger Duvernay, who would later become the first president of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society. In the spring of 1834, Duvernay and other ''patriotes'' attended the celebrations of the first St. Patrick's Day, the celebration of the Irish diaspora, in Montreal. This would have given him and others the idea of organizing something similar for all the ''Canadiens'' and their friends.〔Lebel, Jean-Marie. "(Duvernay, Ludger )", in ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online'', University of Toronto, Université Laval, 2000, retrieved June 29, 2008〕 On that June 24, George-Étienne Cartier's "''Ô Canada! mon pays, mes amours''" was first sung during a grand patriotic banquet gathering about sixty francophones and anglophones of Montreal,〔Attending the event were reformist politicians Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, Edouard Rodier, George-Étienne Cartier, Dr. Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan, Louis Perrault, Thomas Storrow Brown, and Montreal mayor Jacques Viger.〕 in the gardens of lawyer John McDonnell, near the old Windsor Station. The ''Canada'' in the song refers to Lower Canada, today's southern Quebec. Rounds of toasts went to the ''Parti patriote'', the United States, Ireland, and the Ninety-Two Resolutions.〔Prémont, Donald. "(Duvernay, Ludger (1799-1852) )", in the site ''Les Patriotes de 1837@1838'', May 20, 2000, retrieved June 29, 2008〕 Two days later, ''La Minerve'' concluded: "This holiday, whose goal is to solidify the union of the ''Canadiens'', will not go without bearing fruit. It will be celebrated annually as a national holiday and will not miss producing the happiest results."〔"Cette fête dont le but est de cimenter l'union des Canadiens ne sera pas sans fruit. Elle sera célébrée annuellement comme fête nationale et ne pourra manquer de produire les plus heureux résultats", in ''La Minerve'', June 26, 1834〕 The celebration recurred in 1835, 1836, 1837. Following the defeat of the insurrectional movement during the Lower Canada Rebellion and the military repressions which followed, the day was not celebrated for several years.〔 In 1834, Duvernay established the charitable Association Saint-Jean Baptiste in order to have the Saint-Jean-Baptiste celebrated that year. The association was chartered in 1849 with the mission of promoting social and moral progress. (See Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society.) The celebrations were supported by the Catholic Church and were primarily religious around that time. The lighting of bonfires, a traditional custom on the Nativity of Saint John which ultimately reached back to pre-Christian Midsummer celebrations were still lit at night. In addition, the first Saint-Jean-Baptiste parades were organized. They became an important tradition over time. The procession of allegorical floats was introduced in 1874.〔()〕 On June 24, 1880, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society organized the gathering of all francophone communities across North America. The event was the first National Congress of French Canadians (''Congrès national des Canadiens français''). On this occasion, the citizens of Quebec City were the first ones to hear the "''Ô Canada''" of Calixa Lavallée, based on a poem by a Quebec Superior Court judge, Adolphe-Basile Routhier. The song was commissioned by the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society. It was well received but did not become a widely known song for many years. English words were later written for a royal tour in 1901. In 1980, "O Canada" became the official national anthem of Canada. In 1908, Pope Pius X designated St. John the Baptist as the patron saint of French Canadians. From 1914 to 1923 the processions were not held. In 1925, 91 years after the Ludger Duvernay's banquet in Montreal, June 24 became a legal holiday in Quebec. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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