Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society
|
|
SSJB_logo.jpg
The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (French la Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste) is a patriotic institution created by journalist Ludger Duvernay in Lower Canada. It evolved out of the Société Aide-toi et le ciel t'aidera (Help yourself and Heaven will help you) founded by Duvernay on March 8, 1834. Most notably, it made June 24, St. John the Baptist day, the national day of the Canadiens ("French Canadians"). In 1922, June 24 became a public holiday in Quebec, and, since 1977, it is the national holiday of Quebec.
In the 1830s, Lower Canadians of British and (French) Canadian origin founded various charitable and social societies. On December 19, 1834, the English of Lower Canada established the Saint George's Society of Montreal and the Saint George's Society of Quebec on October 12, 1835. The Irish of Lower Canada founded the St. Patrick's Society of Montreal in 1834 also. The Canadiens founded what would become the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society on June 24, 1834. On February 6, 1835, the Scots of Lower Canada established Saint Andrew's Society of Montreal. The German Society of Montreal was also founded in 1835.
Although similar societies also existed in other parts of British North America or the United States, the societies of Lower Canada were created in a different context. Indeed, the British societies all adopted a political stance opposing the Patriotes's demands.
The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society was established to stimulate the patriotic sentiments of the French Canadian and promote the progress of the nation. It has been active in the social, cultural, educational, political, and economic spheres. The society was instrumental in the creation of the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, the École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal, the Monument national, and the Société nationale de fiducie. In 1899, it created the Caisse nationale d'économie and contributed to the Chambre de Commerce de Montréal.
The society awards annual prizes for various achievements. The Bene merenti de Patria silver medal is awarded for patriotism since 1923. There is also the Ludger-Duvernay prize for literature(1955), the Olivar-Asselin prize (1957) for journalism, the Calixa-Lavallée prize (1962) for music, the Victor-Morin (1971) for theatre, the Esdras-Minville prize (1978) for social science, the Maurice-Richard prize (1979) for sport, the Léon-Lortie prize (1987) for science and others. The society has also created many organisms to assist in its mission, notably the La Fondation du Prêt d'Honneur (1944) and the Fondation J.-Donat-Langelier (1988).
In 1938, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society raised a petition of 128,000 names, demanding further restrictions on Jews in Canada.
Initially, the society adopted the maple leaf as it emblem, and its Quebec City branch was the first promoter of the song O Canada as symbols of the French Canadian nation. Ironically, those have now been taken over by English Canada as national Canadian symbols (a bilingual version of the song eventually became the national anthem of Canada in 1980) and are now seen as contrary to the ideas of the Société and many Quebec nationalists.
The society had local branches in all the major French Canadian communities in Quebec, the other Canadian provinces and the United States. It has however changed considerably over the centuries. When it was born, the French speaking inhabitants of Quebec and Canada constituted the only large group wishing to see Canada become an independent country from the British Empire. The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society was an expression of this desire, in all its activities.
During the 20th century, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste eventually focused its action in Quebec, the homeland of the French Canadian people. It is now one of the strong proponents of the independence of Quebec from Canada.
Presently, there are 14 sections of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal in the Greater Montreal Area. The societies are tied to the Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois (MNQ), which also counts 14 affiliated Saint-Jean-Baptiste societies or sociétés nationales in the rest of Quebec.
See also
External links
- Website of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal (http://www.ssjb.com/)
- Website of the Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois (http://www.mnq.qc.ca/)