Founding of Acadia
After spending the winter of
1604-1605 on Sainte-Croix Island off the coast of present-day
Maine, Pierre du Gua, Sieur DeMonts and his men moved their
colony to Port Royal in the sheltered Annapolis Valley. In
1605, these French explorers built a fortification which they
named in honor of the King's geographer on the expedition,
Samuel de Champlain. He called the land "La Cadie", a derivative
of "L' Arcadie", the name given to the region early in the
sixteenth century by the Italian explorer Verrazano. It is
here, and all along the river that winds its way through the
Annapolis Valley that the majority of our Acadian ancestors
would take root in the first half of the seventeenth century.
Later, a number of families
gradually moved further northeast to the Minas and Cumberland
Basin areas settling in regions such as: Grand Pré, near the
town of present-day Wolfville, N.S.; Cobequid, the Truro region
of today; Beaubassin, near the present-day town of Amherst,
N.S., as well as the Memramcook region, in southeastern New
Brunswick.
Today there exist a number
of historic sites which symbolize Acadian history in the province
of Nova Scotia. Examples of these include the fort at Port
Royal, which signifies where the French first settled in 1605,
and Grand-Pré, which commemorates the Acadian deportation
and subsequent migrations. The following Acadian family names
are listed today in the memorial church on the site at Grand-Pré
As a result of the deportation
begun in 1755 and the subsequent migrations it entailed, the
Acadians were dispersed all over the Atlantic rim including
the New England States and all along the eastern seaboard as
far south as Georgia. Some were deported to England and back
to France. The Acadians also migrated to present-day New Brunswick,
Prince Edward Island, and back to various locations in Nova
Scotia and to Newfoundland as well as to Québec. Many
would eventually reach Louisiana, the West Indies and even the
Falkland Islands.
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Present-Day Acadie in Nova Scotia
Four centuries later the province
of Nova Scotia, and especially the Acadian villages that dot
its shores, will receive some 100,000 visitors attracted to
the region by a myriad of historical and cultural activities.
As with the two past Congrès, Nova Scotia's celebrations
will span a two-week period beginning on July 31, leading
up to and concluding with the National Acadian Feast Day on
August 15.
The northern Acadian regions
of Nova Scotia are located in Richmond and Inverness Counties
on Cape Breton Island and in the Acadian communities in Antigonish
and Guysborough Counties. The southern Acadian regions of
the province consist of Saint Mary's Bay in the Municipality
of Clare, Digby County, as well as the Acadian communities
in the Municipality of Argyle, Yarmouth County. Acadians are
also found in the center of the province in the village of
Chezzetcook, Halifax County.
The greater majority of Acadians are found today residing
in the Metropolitan areas of Halifax/Dartmouth and Sydney.
Since the late nineteenth century and the beginning of the
twentieth, Acadians from many rural communities in Nova Scotia
were attracted to these centers because of employment opportunities
and other city life experiences.
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Acadian Traditions
When examining feast days and
festivities in the Acadian community one sees that Acadian
traditions are usually of French origin, sometimes with a
North American flavour and almost always influenced by the
Roman Catholic Church. As a result of this strong influence,
many of the feasts and festivities follow the Roman Catholic
liturgical calendar. Those that are not linked to the religious
calendar are influenced by the changes in seasons. Many of
the celebrations have their ancient origins in the pagan Greco-Roman
civilisations. When Christianity took hold in Europe, many
of the pagan ceremonies were juxtaposed with their more solemn
Christian ones to entice the Pagans to become Christians.
Each Acadian village may have slight variations on the same
celebratory theme. When looking at a traditional feast or
festivity in any society the following basic characteristics
tend to be part of the celebration: food, song, dance, mask,
and a general joyful love of celebrating life.
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Acadian Symbols
Symbols like a coat of arms,
a flag, and a motto serve to identify countries, nations,
groups, institutions, families and individuals. These symbols
reflect a culture's history, values and traditions.
The first Acadian nationalists gave their people a series
of official cultural symbols. During the 1881 National Convention
held at Memramcook, New Brunswick delegates chose a national
feast day. At the 1884 National Convention held at Miscouche,
Prince Edward Island Acadians chose a flag, a motto, a national
anthem and some insignia. These symbols became one way of
affirming a sense of belonging to a distinct group of people.
1. Acadian Flag
2. National Anthemn -- AVE MARIS STELLA --
3. Acadian Motto
4. Badge or Insignia
5. Coat of Arms
6. Patron Saint OUR LADY OF THE ASSOMPTION
7. National Feast Day August 15
8. The Fictitious Character Evangeline
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Acadian Motto: UNITED WE STAND
During the 1884 National Convention
held at Miscouche in 1884 delegates chose an Acadian motto
UNITED WE STAND. Four years earlier at a meeting of
the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Association a group called L'Union
nationale française de L'Amérique du Nord had
been formed. The delegates of Miscouche adopted the same motto
that had been chosen for this national association. The motto
has often been used by Acadians at religious ceremonies, feast
days and national conventions.
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Celebrating
in Acadie:
Examples of Religious and Popular Feast days
1. New Year’s Eve or Saint Sylvester (December 31)
and New Year’s Day
o Fricot
o Chicken Rappie Pie
2. Epiphany (January 6)
o An Epiphany Cake
3. Candlemas (February 2)
o Pancakes
4. Blessing of Throats –
The Feast day of Saint Blaise (February 3)
5. Valentine’s Day (February 14)
6. Mardi Gras (date changes from year to year)
o Gumbo
7. La mi-carême (Mid-Lent) (date changes from year to
year)
8. Easter (date changes from year to year)
o Omelet
9. The First Snow of May
o Snow Pancakes
10. Corpus Christi (between May 21 and June 24)
11. Saint Anne (July 26)
o “Gousses” in sauce
12. Blessing of the Fishing Boats
(First Sunday after the feast day of Saint Anne)
o Salt cod
13. Our Lady of the Assumption (August 15)
14. Halloween or All Hallows Eve (31 October)
o Brown Sugar Fudge
15. All Saints Day (November 1)
The Day of the Dead (November 2)
o Cabbage Soup
16. Saint Catherine (November 25)
o Taffy or Toffee (Tamarin or Tire)
o Molasses Taffy or Toffee Celebrating in Acadie:
Examples of Religious and Popular Feast days
1. New Year’s Eve or Saint Sylvester (December 31)
and New Year’s Day
o Fricot
o Chicken Rappie Pie
2. Epiphany (January 6)
o An Epiphany Cake
3. Candlemas (February 2)
o Pancakes
4. Blessing of Throats –
The Feast day of Saint Blaise (February 3)
5. Valentine’s Day (February 14)
6. Mardi Gras (date changes from year to year)
o Gumbo
7. La mi-carême (Mid-Lent) (date changes from year to
year)
8. Easter (date changes from year to year)
o Omelet
9. The First Snow of May
o Snow Pancakes
10. Corpus Christi (between May 21 and June 24)
11. Saint Anne (July 26)
o “Gousses” in sauce
12. Blessing of the Fishing Boats
(First Sunday after the feast day of Saint Anne)
o Salt cod
13. Our Lady of the Assumption (August 15)
14. Halloween or All Hallows Eve (31 October)
o Brown Sugar Fudge
15. All Saints Day (November 1)
The Day of the Dead (November 2)
o Cabbage Soup
16. Saint Catherine (November 25)
o Taffy or Toffee (Tamarin or Tire)
o Molasses Taffy or Toffee
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