Human Rights A Day

Quebec’s Saint Jean Baptiste Day gets its origins. The pagan celebrations of the summer solstice turned into a religious celebration during the reign of King Clovis of France in the 5th century. He decided to mark the birth of John the Baptist, the man who baptized Jesus Christ, on June 24. Given the date’s proximity to the summer solstice, it’s celebrated with bonfires symbolizing lighting up the world. European Catholics, especially in France, celebrate it with vigor, as do Quebecers, who call it the Fête Nationale (National Holiday). In Canada the holiday began on June 24, 1834 when 60 prominent Francophones and Anglophones gathered for a banquet. Two days later Ludger Duvenay, founder of the newspaper La Minerve, wrote in his paper that this day must be celebrated annually. Although it was not always celebrated, Duvenay established the Association Saint-Jean Baptiste in 1843 and became its first president. On June 24, 1880, at an association gathering in Quebec City, those present were the first to hear C