Canada should prove to be an interesting place to celebrate this glorious Gallic independence day. Canada is a strange dichotomy of English and French culture, an amalgam of Britain and France based on centuries of rule under both. Many think of Quebec when they think of the French influence here in Canada, but the French language is, along with The Queen's English (not American English, there is a difference) the official language, both being used in confluence in every way, from government documents, to product packaging, to language options on the telephone (as opposed to the American options of "press 1 for English, 2 para Espanol"). The French influence is everywhere in Canada, and is not simply limited to Quebec. So, just as Saint Jean-Baptiste Day is primarily a Quebecois holiday, it is celebrated throughout Canada (Parliament was furious that they would have to work through the holiday while trying to resolve the recent postal strike).
British holidays are also celebrated here, considering we are part of the British Commonwealth of Nations and Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain is our sovereign and head of state (I'm still trying to decide if I can pledge my fealty to a monarch if and when I become a Canadian citizen (or if I will have to break the oath to my American liege, Burger King)). Boxing Day is the most major of English holidays, and is celebrated with equal aplomb here in Canada. This should come as no surprise as I now live in a place called British Columbia (the capitol of BC, Victoria, is considered to be the most British city in the Western Hemisphere). Malt vinegar is a condiment staple on any restaurant (and fast food) table, and again, the lost British "u" returns to words like "colour, humour, rumour" - the "u" that is missing from them in the States (and I am especially happy that the colour here is "grey" and not the the American "gray").
I had an electrician to the hoose the other day - a Quebecois named Pierre. He did, in all seriousness, as only a Frenchman can do, wore a beret. He was very pleased that we had chosen to decorate our home with French language prints and art. He asked if I was from Quebec, as my last name is very French (as he pointed out). I told him that my paternal grandfather's family was Quebecois, but that I was simply from the States. "Then you need to go to Quebec and see your history! It is such a beautiful country!" (I carefully noted that, like nearly all Quebecois, he did not refer to Quebec as a province, but as a country - the independence movement in Quebec is not as strong as it was in the late 90's/early 00's, but it is still very much alive). He was a stereotype, but not in a comical way. He was simply a French-Canadian, living in British Columbia, driving a Dodge Ram pick-up (that is, according to Sam Goddamn Elliott, "the pick-up driven proudly by more Canadians than any other 4x4 on the road."). I'm guessing today is a big day for Pierre and his family, akin to the 4th of July in the US for any American electrician and his family.
It is really quite fun to see a country celebrate such a myriad of cultural holidays in blase harmony. So this month, we are now on our third Independence Day celebration, with July 1st being Canada Day (or Dominion Day, as it used to be called, when Canada became it's own country and not a territory of Great Britain), July 4th being the American Independence Day (when Britain again lost it's first large territory - we won;t even go into India and how they lost, literally, half the world at the end of WWI), and now today, July 14th, is Bastille Day, when France gained independence from monarchical rule (although the day is actually more of a celebration of a violent general riot where a prison was over-run).
So today, raise a glass of Bordeaux, Beaujolais, cognac, or champagne, feast on a warm croissant or nibble on some frog legs (the amphibious kind, not the visiting French tourist kind), and toast to the memory of General Marquis de Lafayette a gallant young French aristocrat who was the single greatest influence on getting France to aid the Americans in their fight for Independence - without the general, there would probably be no United States of America. Remember that our great national treasure, the Statue of Liberty, is not just a beacon of hope for immigrants from around the world, but a gift of enduring and everlasting friendship between the US and France.
And without France (and some big bike race there), we'd never know who the hell Lance Armstrong was (but really, do we care anyway?). Without France, where would the Coneheads be from? Without France, our kisses just wouldn't be that wet. Without France, the whole waterslide scene from "Bill & Ted's Big Adventure" would make no sense. Without France, we'd really have to call them Freedom Fries.
So raise that glass and toast to the greatest nation of capitulators the world has ever known: Vive le France!
No comments:
Post a Comment