June 24 is La St-Jean Baptiste in Quebec. That is La Fete Nationale, our 4th of July. The holiday marks the summer solstice and honours the patron saint of French Canadians—Jean Baptiste (John the Baptist).
Celebrations start on the 23rd with big outdoor concerts. In Quebec, the concert is on Les Plaines D'Abraham (huge green area on picture below). The concert is followed by fireworks.
Celebrations start on the 23rd with big outdoor concerts. In Quebec, the concert is on Les Plaines D'Abraham (huge green area on picture below). The concert is followed by fireworks.
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| People arriving at the St-Jean Baptiste concert in 2007 This was the year of the 400th anniversary of Quebec and that picture was taken at around 8 am on the 23rd. The concert started at 9 pm. |
On the 24th, people have the day off and they get together with friends and family the same way people do here on the 4th of July. The Canadian National holiday is July 1st and that is another celebration but in Quebec the big one is June 24th.
I am sure by now you are sick and tired of reading about where I am from and how great I think it is. I am proud of where I come from and June 23/24 are not easy days for me so bare with me one more time! Music is a huge part of this holiday and so here are 3 clips I found on YouTube that I wanted to share with you. First one is a bit old, June 23rd 1976 and it is 5 of the most well known folks singers and poets we ever had (the one on the far left passed away last week), singing what is considered to be our National Anthem:
Gens du Pays. (People of the Nation)
Gens du Pays. (People of the Nation)
Pour toi Anne! Joyeuse St-Jean!!!
And this one from one of my favorite: Paul Piché singing Heureux d'un Printemps (Happy it is Spring)
Last one from a group called Beau Dommage singing La Complainte du Phoque en Alaska. (The Seal's lament from Alaska) I was at that concert in 1995.
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Running:
Yesterday I did a rehearsal for my next race. I am running a 5k on the 4th of July and it is local so I can run the course a few times before the race. It went well. The last mile is all uphill and my quads were feeling it. I think negative splits will be hard to do for me. I will bank time on the flat portion and the 2 ultra mini downhill. I have a hard time to pick up the pace going uphill. I am going back tomorrow for another try.
Today: speework: 10x400, 5 miles total. I ran those a bit faster then the ones I did last week, I want to push on these to see how fast I can really go. On the last one, I went to my limit and almost fell of the TM and scared the gal next to me...oopsy.
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GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE RUNNING SEATTLE!
10 comments:
I like hearing about where you are from. And it's kind of nice to learn something new now and then!
And for the record...we are glad to have you here, even if you miss home =)
Ahhhh! I forgot it was SJ Baptiste Day....no wonder it is so quiet in my office..all my QC co workers are enjoying their long weekend.
Jealous.....
I love learning about Quebec through you
Nice work on the 400's! I'm running a 5K on the 4th too! Good Luck to you! Love the pics!
Bonne Saint-Jean Baptiste à toi ma chère Caroline!!!!! Je pense à toi et j'adore ton hommage à notre fête Nationale :) Merci!!!!!!!
I no comprende half of this post. Je m'appelle Jim.
I've never been to Quebec, but I heard it is gorgeous. I know a bunch of bloggers are doing the Mont Tremblant triathlon next year I think.
You should be proud of where you are from, it probably was really hard to leave it. I'm no expert on Canadian history, but it seems like Quebec is even more unique than the rest of Canada due to the French influence. Wouldn't Quebec want to be its own country apart from the rest of Canada? I seem to recall that this might have been talked about in the past, not sure if anything came of it or not.
I never thought that I would actually be going to the Olympics to see it. I'm always the person watching all the prime time coverage on TV, I love it. Tennis final should be awesome, I love watching Wimbledon, it will be great to see tennis there.
That is great that you are a swimmer, swimming takes place over the first week, and I'm only going for the 2nd half of the Olympics. Swimming tickets were also really hard to get!
Thanks for the TV ideas, I might check out that new show Expedition, I think it is in Morocco or something.
Thanks for all the swimming tips, I will try these next time!
Look at Nelly, that dude is the best commenter on the planet. Love that guy.
Bonne Fete mon amie.
Glad you are back running like the wind. 10 X 400M is pretty impressive. 16 weeks until LB!
Rehearsing on the racecourse will serve you well. Wow an uphill final mile? Yuck. Very nice speed work!
I like reading about the Country where you are from.
The italian national holiday is not a beautiful celebration for part of the Country because it reminds the civil war. After the end the communists killed thousands of defeated persons: it was called the bloody spring.
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