Even though there are many holidays in Canada, there are only a few that have religious ties. St. Jean Baptiste Day is one of the few Canadian holidays that has religious roots..St. John the Baptist is a figure from the bible that is credited with baptizing Jesus. This has led to the Canadian Holiday of St. John the Baptist Day that involves a feast day in his honor. This means that those with religious ties are more apt to celebrate this holiday. However, it is a widely popular holiday in Canada no matter what your religious background may be. The French parts of Canada are those that celebrate this holiday with the most fervor.
Here is everything that you need to know about St. Jean Baptiste Day:
The Feast
Even though there are a number of different events that are held in honor of this holiday, feasts seem to be the most popular way to celebrate St. Jean the Baptiste. This means that social gatherings in honor of this day often involve some type of meal. People even come together and BBQ or will have a large meal in honor of this Canadian holiday. Even though festivals and local events are popular, it is feasts that bring out the most people.
Public Holiday
Not all of the holidays that are celebrated in Canada are public holidays, but this day is one of the few that are. This means that all public offices are closed on St. Jean the Baptiste Day. June 24th is the day that this holiday is celebrated each year, but if it happens to fall on a Sunday, the holiday will be observed on the 25th with all public services being closed on this day. This means that it is a good idea to take a loot at the calendar and see when this holiday falls.
Photo by Alexandre Normand