The traditional Saint-Jean-Baptiste parade has changed with the social upheavals that Quebec has experienced in its history. Through our archives, discover some important changes and memorable National Day parades.
A procession that highlights tradition and religion
Even before the arrival of Christianity, from pagan times, bonfires were organized around June 24 to celebrate the summer solstice.
In 1834, a sympathizer of the patriots, Ludger Duvernay, decided to found an association to mark the feast of French Canadians. The ancestor of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society is called Help yourself and heaven will help you. Each year, the organization prepares a banquet and a big bonfire.
Initially, the festival was more of a Montreal phenomenon, but around 1880, the festivities became more national and celebrations spread across the province.
Allegorical floats, cadet groups, marching bands, officials, notables and representatives of the Catholic Church were the preserve of parades until the 1960s.
An emblematic figure of the parade, the little blond Saint John the Baptist, accompanied on his chariot by a sheep as curly as him, has long been the pride of his family.
On June 21, 1956, host Michelle Tisseyre met the child chosen that year to play Saint John the Baptist.
In the company of Mr. Lafrance, the organizer of the parade for the year 1956, the young Jean-Marc Linteau does not hide his joy at being chosen to embody the role of the boss of the French Canadians.
But the little Saint John the Baptist will be the subject of more and more criticism at the turn of the sixties. Many see the child and his sheep as a symbol of docility, passivity and sheepishness of French Canadians. It will be replaced first by a statue of an adult Saint John the Baptist in 1963, then will disappear completely from the parade a few years later.
An increasingly demanding party
In 1963, the organizers decided to present the parade in the evening. Taking inspiration from parades in Europe that take place in the evening, the designers believe that the lights will produce a more interesting effect.
June 29, 1963 at 20 years ExpressJames Bamber presents a report on this very first night parade.
James Bamber and journalist Colette Beauchamp talk to young people attending the parade. They question them about their pride in being French Canadians, about what they think of the parade and about the events that marked them the most during 1963.
Many mention the actions of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ), which in May and the previous April had begun to become more violent.
On June 24, 1968, the presence of Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau on the dais one day before the federal election was badly accepted by the public in place.
The voices of commentators Henri Bergeron and Gabi Drouin are veiled by the noisy sirens of the police and the sound of the slogans chanted by the demonstrators. Quebec to Quebecers, Free Quebecetc.
” I hope you can hear our voice right now, our stage is literally surrounded by demonstrators, who are demonstrating against Mr. Trudeau’s coming here tonight. “
A riot breaks out and some revelers start throwing projectiles at the stage, but Pierre Elliott Trudeau refuses to leave the scene.
The demonstrators are pursued in all directions by the police, the event is called the Monday of the truncheon.
The following year in 1969, the parade was commented on by filmmakers Bernard Gosselin and Pierre Perrault, who made harsh comments about the presentation of the parade, the political choices of Quebecers and their lack of pride. During the presentation, the two commentators are asked to withdraw and are replaced by Michel Pelland who completes the description.
Towards more popular festivities
During the 1970s, the celebrations took on a more popular turn with street parties, improvised concerts and citizen marches.
It was also in the 1970s that Quebecers attended large musical gatherings, such as Saint-Jean on Mount Royal in 1975 and the show 1 time 5 on the Plains of Abraham and on Mount Royal the following year.
The big parades will take a break for nearly twenty years between the 1970s and 1990s.
On June 24, 1990, a few days after the rejection of the Meech Lake Accord by English Canada, a big parade was organized in Montreal.
At Montreal Tonight of June 25, 1990, IJournalists Ghislaine Bouffard and Alain Picard present reports that provide an overview of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste parade.
At the invitation of the organizers, thousands of Quebecers gather in Montreal. Sherbrooke Street is transformed into a sea of fleur-de-lis.
The parade opens with a Trojan sheep filled with young people from different cultural communities. Spectators interpret this traditional symbol in their own way.
Radio Canada
Source: Radio-Canada
