french culture ch. 10

muslims

ramadan is the holy month of the

ninth

ramadan is the ______ lunar month

eating

during ramadan, in this period of spiritual purification, practicing people, often of maghreb origin in france, must refrain from ________ between sunrise and sunset

le premier jour du mois

the first day of the following month that marks the end of the fast (ramadan)

eid (eid-el-fitr)

enjoy delicious traditional dishes (couscous, baklava, dried figs, and datas, and almond milk) (ramadan)

friends

unlike christmas eve which is traditionally spent with family, new year’s eve is generally celebrated with

what to do on new year’s eve

dine together or organize a dance party

twelfth stroke of midnight

at this time, people drink champagne, wish each other a happy new year, and kiss under the mistletoe, a symbol of prosperity for the year to come

les fête des rois

the feast of kings; a feast of christian origin that also called the epiphany and which refers to the visit of the three wise men to jesus just after his birth

january 6

popular tradition: draw the kinds, share a king’s cake in which are hidden one or two beans

king or queen

the one who finds a bean is crowned this

plastic or ceramic figurines

originally, the bean was a real bean (like a small dried bean), but today we use these

la fête saint-jean

quebec’s national holiday, celebrated every june 24

history of la fête saint-jean

derives from a pre-christian ritual of dancing around a large nightstand to celebrate the summer solstice, but it was transformed into a religious holiday by the catholic church to honor Saint John the baptist

french settlers

in the 17th century, these people in canada continued the tradition

1977

it was not until this year, after the quiet revolution that saint john’s day, as it is now known, officially become Quebec’s people’s day

quiet revolution

a period of major social reforms and nationalist demands in Quebec

11 public holidays in france

• january 1st: le jour de l’An (new year’s day)

• le lundi de pâques (easter monday, date variable)

• may 1st: la fête du travail (labor day)

• may 8th: le jour de la victoire (victory day)

• l’ascension (the ascent, date variable)

• le lundi de la pentecôte (whit monday, date variable)

• july 14: la fête nationale (national holiday)

• august 15: l’assomption (the assumption)

• november 1st: la toussaint (all saint’s day)

• november 11: l’armistice (the armistice)

• december 25: noël (christmas)

96%

this percentage of haitians call themselves christians, but may incorprate elements of voodoo into their religious practice

voodoo

a term that refers to all spirits and supernatural forces, has about 50 million followers worldwide, mostly in rural haiti and other caribbean islands

syncretism

a blend of influences and practices, based since the time of slavery in certain African religions and int he European Catholicism of the colonizers; voodoo is an example

bondeye

voodoo followers believe in a supreme being called this in haitian creole (derived from the good God in French)

iwas

bondeye delegates his powers to these spirits

papa legba

the first of the iwas; the one who guards the border between the human world and the supernatural world, similar in some ways to saint peter, who holds the keys to paradise

different rites

there are _______ to enter into a relationship with the supernatural world, which are often represented in an exaggerated and stereotyped in hollywood films and television series

dramatization of rites

dances, trances, veves (ritual drawings that are traced on the ground), animal sacrifices

the cajuns

are descendants of people expelled from acadia in the 18th century

acadia

now the maritime provinces of eastern canada

le grand dérangement

the great upheaval, forced migration of the cajuns over several years (from 1755 to 1763) was part of this historical event

conversion of cajuns

after britain’s victory over france, the cajuns, who were french-speaking and catholic, were forced to speak english and convert to prtoestantism or leave

cajuns religions

french-speaking and catholic

18,000

about ______ acadiens set out on the roads or embarked on boats

louisiana

some acadiens arrived here without knowing that at the time, it was a spanish colony, not a french one

spanish influence in lousiana

was fleeting, but can be seen in jambalaya, a dish inspried by paella

cajun culture

have their own music mixture of old french songs, religious chants, and tales that later incorporated creole, indian, and mexican rhythms — a long tradition that led to zydeco