The National Holiday of Quebec

The National Holiday of Quebec (La Fête nationale du Québec) is a holiday in the Canadian province of Quebec.

It is celebrated on June 24, which betrays the origin of the holiday as this is also St. John the Baptist Day (Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day) - the patron saint of the French Canadians.

The feast day of Saint John the Baptist was a popular feast day in many European countries. One reason for this was that it's timing coincided nicely with much older pagan holidays that celebrated the summer solstice. It is still celebrated as a religious feast day in several countries, such as Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and has echos in other holidays such as the Swiss National Day - A central theme in the celebrations is the lighting of bonfires. The holiday arrived in Quebec along with the first French colonists, with celebrations being noted as far back as 1636.

Celebrations begin on June 23 with the lighting of bonfires, dancing, and the singing of traditional folk songs. The morning of the holiday, parades are held in major centres. A Roman Catholic mass is usually followed by popular music concerts.

While the holiday has become secularized in modern times, the day remains popularly called la St-Jean-Baptiste or simply la St-Jean and is still observed in churches.

In 1925, June 24 became a legal holiday in Quebec. In 1977, it was declared as the national holiday in Quebec. The use of 'national' in this context is controversial, due to the different interpretations of significance of the word nation.

The popularity of  Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day had a surprising knock on effect on another Canadian holiday. Until the 1970s, Dominion Day, which fell on July 1, was little more than a day off for most Canadians; the major holiday was Victoria Day. To respond to the Quebec nationalist promotion of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, the federal government began pushing July 1 as a national holiday for Canada. It did so by changing the name of the holiday to Canada Day and increasing the amount of funds available for its celebration.