Last St. Jean Baptiste?
They can call it the Fete Nationale de Quebec all they want - it will always be the St. Jean Baptiste to me… pronounced St. Jean Battiste for those of you not “in the know.” I fondly remember an argument in a course on the History of Montreal after we were assigned to read an article which CLAIMED that the St. Jean Baptiste was at the same time as the solstice in order to co-opt pagan festivites. I HATE when people try to come up with a distinguished heritage for wicca (bleck). The Bible quite clearly states that St. John the Baptist was born six months before Christ - that Christmas coincides with the Winter Solstice is another story.
I missed the St. Jean Baptiste last year (working in Toronto and going to Latin bootcamp. Go me! And as i am relocating to the U.S. of A in August it might possibly have been my last St. Jean Baptiste for a very long time. After stopping for a coffee with E, i picked up Isa at the metro and drove out to the South Shore (Beloeil and McMasterville) to enjoy a more traditional St. Jean of sitting by the pool, playing cards, drinking wine, eating BBQ, walking in the blazing sun to the river and watching fireworks by a fire. Thanks go out to Ana and her family for making the holiday a great one!
You know the BIG party was the night before when walking down the street you encounter beer bottles on people’s front lawns…
And you know you’ve found last night’s partyers when the 6pm church bells going off behind you don’t cause the nappers by the shore to stir from their hung-over slumber.
Despite the heavy fines, many business in Vieux Beloeil chose to stay open. We stumbled into this “petit coin de paradis” as Isa so nicely put it and nursed our frozen beverages from the Chocolaterie while watching the boats zoom up and down the river.
Faced with few distractions, i decided to terrorize my companions by forcing them to join me in “touristy” pictures. I love the grimace on Isa’s face in this one. Mont St. Hilaire is in the background.
Of course, no St. Jean would be complete without a fire around which to huddle and avoid the bugs. Sadly, i still haven’t figured out how to take pictures of fireworks.
[All photos taken on Canon Powershot SD550]
