The culture of Quebec emerged over the last few hundread years, resulting from the shared history of the French-speaking majority in Quebec. It is unique to the Western world; Quebec is the only region in North America with a French-speaking majority, as well as one of only two provinces in Canada where French is a constitutionally-recognized official language (New Brunswick being the other). Thus, French speaking Quebecers (7.83 million) differ from that of the 25.91 million remaining citizens of Canada. For historical and linguistic reasons, francophone Quebec also has cultural links with other North American French-speaking communities, particularly with the Acadians of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Franco-Ontarian communities in Eastern Ontario, and to a lesser extent with the French Canadian communities of northern Ontario and Western Canada and the Cajun French revival movements in Louisiana, United States. As of 2006, 79% of all Quebecers have French as their mother tongue or speak mostly French at home; since French is the official language in the province, up to 95% of all residents know and use French in their daily activities.
History made Quebec a meeting place for cultures, where people from around the world experience America, but from a little distance and through a different eye. The culture of Quebec is connected to the strong cultural currents of the rest of Canada, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom all at the same time. As such, it is often described as a crossroads between Europe and America. The Encyclopædia Britannica describes contemporary Quebec culture as a post-1960s phenomenon resulting from the Quiet Revolution, an essentially homogeneous socially liberal counter-culture phenomenon supported and financed by both of Quebec's major political parties, who differ essentially not in a right-vs-left continuum but a federalist-vs-sovereignist/separatist continuum.
Quebec Folklore
In terms of folklore, Quebec’s French speaking populace has the second largest body of folktales in Canada (the first being native people); most prominent within Quebec folklore are old parables and tales. Other forms of folklore include superstitions associated with objects, events, and dreams.
Tales
When the early settlers arrived from France in the 16th and 17th century, they brought with them popular tales from their homeland. Adapted to fit the traditions of rural Quebec by transforming the European hero into Ti-Jean, a generic rural habitant, they eventually spawned many other tales. Many were passed on through generations by what French speaking Quebecers refer to as Les Raconteurs , or storytellers. Their tales vary in length: good Raconteurs can recite tales lasting over two hours, or even tell them over the course of a few evenings. A great many of the stories were never written down, but rather have been passed on through word of mouth. Almost all of the stories native to Quebec, were influenced by Christian dogma and superstitions.The Devil, for instance, appears often as either a person, an animal or monster, or indirectly through demonic acts.
The Devil at the Dance
The Devil at the Dance is an example in which the Devil was used to reinforce Christian ideals. It is the story of a young couple in love. The girl, whose parents are heretics, refuse the young man's suite after discovering he is Christian. When the daughter protests, her mother announces that she would rather have the Devil himself courting her daughter than the young Christian. The following Sunday afternoon, a stranger comes to call. Due to the vast amount of snow on the ground, he has arrived in a horse pulled carriage which had been left in front of the dwelling. Not too long after, the young Christian comes to visit his beloved. Noticing that all of the snow surrounding the stead had melted away, he realizes that this was no ordinary horse. Rushing inside, he spies the young girl’s father and explains to him what he saw outside. "It’s none other than the Devil himself! Your wife invited him in with her heresy," explains the Christian. Afraid, the young girl’s father begs the Christian to fetch his priest while he keeps an eye on his daughter. The priest, who recognizes the urgency of the matter, rushes over in order to prevent the Devil from stealing the young girls soul. Armed with holy water, a crucifix, and a prayer book, the priest approaches the Devil. Having seen the holy man, the Devil quickly rushes to a corner of the room. When the priest asks the the Devil why he is here, the latter replies that he is here ‘because I was invited’. Determined to remain in the dwelling, the Devil ignores the priest's requests to leave. It is only when the holy man had started to read from his Bible and sprinkling holy water about, that the Devil finally leaves in a fit of pyrotechnics. Overwhelmed with joy, the mother and father fall on bended knees in front of the priest, thanking him and promising to convert to Christianity. The three of them –mother, father and daughter- convert and the young couple gets married. There are various versions of this tale: one paints the young girl as being very disobedient and flirtatious. Although her parents warn her of the evils of selfishness, her actions do not change. Thus, the Devil was able to enter her home because of her unchristian behaviour. She is saved once again by the priest, and converts to Christianity. Another version has the tale happening in a remote village in New Brunswick, but with the same basic storyline. Clearly, the tale evolved depending on what message the storyteller was trying to portray. Regardless of the version, the vast influence of the Catholic church is ever present.
Superstitions
Other aspects of Quebec folklore include superstitions surrounding objects, events, and dreams. In essence, these stem from the belief in both white magic and black magic, where the former is seen to be beneficial and seeks to bring about positive outcomes, and the latter being essentially malicious, sinister, and all around evil (sometimes also called witchcraft). Although Christianity had slowly chipped away at most forms of magic and replaced it by doctrines, the populace still held on to its various superstitions for generations. Where religion provides Quebec with a societal structure, these beliefs sought to predict the future, to help alleviate fear of the unknown.
Various Superstitions
Listed bellow are objects along with a brief description of the superstition associated with them.
Age A woman, regardless of marital status, will experience an important event during the year following her 31st birthday.
Animals When animals are nervous, it means there is an impending death or disease.
Bee If a wasp, a hornet, or a bee bites your tongue you will not be stung.
Bonhomme sept-heures This man is said to kidnap children who are out of bed after seven o'clock at night. He hides underneath balconies and, equipped with a mask and bag in which to dispose the children, only enters a home after the clock strikes seven.
Eldest Child If its a boy, the father will die before the mother will. Likewise, if its a girl, the mother will die first.Freckles Having freckles on your arms is a sign of sensuality.
Gifts You should never give someone a mirror, a knife, or any religious object as a gift because it brings bad luck.
Hair Brush If a young women drops her hairbrush, then she'll lose her fiancee.
Happiness If you dream about being happy, then the next day you will have a huge fight; vice versa is also true.
Matches Hold onto a match while it burns itself out. Make a wish, and when the fire goes out, your wish will come true.
If, by mere coincidence, two matches cross each other and create a crucifix in an ashtray, then someone will die.
Its bad luck if you are the third one to light your cigarette using the same match. For the other two, however, it means they will find love in the future.
Needle If you lose your needle, you will also lose your horse.
If you drop a needle and it sticks itself into the ground, then someone is thinking ill of you.
If a friend gives you a needle, you must prick yourself with it immediately to avoid an argument.
If you find a needle and it is pointing towards you, you will have bad luck; if it pointing away from you, you will have good luck.
Rats To dream of rats means there are enemies nearby.
Spiders Throwing a spider under a cupboard will bring you luck and money. It is good luck to kill a spider with your right hand or foot. Likewise, it is bad luck to kill one with your left hand or foot.
Stars Count nine stars nine nights in a row, and the last star will point towards your future husband.
Trees Trees die after those who have planted them die.
Creative arts
Cinema
Main article: Cinema of QuebecSee also: List of Quebec film directors and List of Quebec moviesThe first public movie projection in North America occurred in Montreal on June 27, 1896. Frenchman Louis Minier presented a film on a cinematograph in a café-theatre on Saint Lawrence Boulevard. However, i
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