The culture of Quebec emerged over the last few hundred years,
resulting predominantly from the shared history of the French-speaking
North American majority in Quebec. It is noteworthy in 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). For historical and
linguistic reasons, Francophone Quebec also has cultural links with
other North American and Caribbean French-speaking communities,
particularly with the Acadians of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia,
Franco-Ontarian communities in Eastern Ontario and Haiti; to a lesser
extent with Martinique and French-Canadian communities of Northern
Ontario and Western Canada and the Cajun French revival movements in
Louisiana, United States. There is also a large Celtic influence with
immigrants from Ireland and Scotland. As of 2006, 79% of all Quebecers
list French as their mother tongue; since French is the official
language in the province, up to 95% of all residents speak
French.History made Quebec a meeting place for cultures, where people
from around the world experience America, but in the main from the
point of view of a linguistic minority surrounded by the larger
English-speaking culture. The culture of Quebec is connected to the
strong cultural currents of the rest of Canada, the United States,
France, and the United Kingdom. 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-sovereignty/separatist continuum.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. The Association Quebecoise des Loisirs Folkloriques is an
organization committed to preserving and disseminating Quebec's
folklore heritage. It produces a number of publications and
recordings, as well as sponsoring other activities.When the early
settlers arrived from France in the 17th and 18th 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
Québécois refer to as Les Raconteurs, or storytellers. 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.
resulting predominantly from the shared history of the French-speaking
North American majority in Quebec. It is noteworthy in 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). For historical and
linguistic reasons, Francophone Quebec also has cultural links with
other North American and Caribbean French-speaking communities,
particularly with the Acadians of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia,
Franco-Ontarian communities in Eastern Ontario and Haiti; to a lesser
extent with Martinique and French-Canadian communities of Northern
Ontario and Western Canada and the Cajun French revival movements in
Louisiana, United States. There is also a large Celtic influence with
immigrants from Ireland and Scotland. As of 2006, 79% of all Quebecers
list French as their mother tongue; since French is the official
language in the province, up to 95% of all residents speak
French.History made Quebec a meeting place for cultures, where people
from around the world experience America, but in the main from the
point of view of a linguistic minority surrounded by the larger
English-speaking culture. The culture of Quebec is connected to the
strong cultural currents of the rest of Canada, the United States,
France, and the United Kingdom. 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-sovereignty/separatist continuum.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. The Association Quebecoise des Loisirs Folkloriques is an
organization committed to preserving and disseminating Quebec's
folklore heritage. It produces a number of publications and
recordings, as well as sponsoring other activities.When the early
settlers arrived from France in the 17th and 18th 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
Québécois refer to as Les Raconteurs, or storytellers. 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.
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