acadian national day

Happy holidays!
By which I mean, happy Acadian National Day, the national holiday of my people. (The Acadians, careful readers of crabwalk know, were the French Canadians who evolved into the Cajuns of south Louisiana.) August 15 was chosen in 1881 at the first National Acadian Convention in Memramcook, New Brunswick; the day was the Catholic feast day for Our Lady of Assumption. It was chosen in part to separate the Acadians from the Quebecois and other French Canadians, who celebrated their day on June 24.
I don’t know what’s going on in Canada today, but this is a big year in Acadian history. It’s the 250th anniversary of the expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia by the treacherous and villainous Charles Lawrence, which was happening right around this time of year in 1755. (Lawrence’s order came on July 28; the first wave of expulsions lasted through to September. Which reminds me: I need to finish A Great and Noble Scheme soon.)
So, celebrate by having some crawfish today. Actually, crawfish are out of season at the moment, and the only ones you can get are frozen tails imported from China. So…have an andouille sausage poboy instead. Maybe some catfish courtbouillon. Or some corn and crab bisque. Or some tasso jambalaya. Mmmmmmm.

One thought on “acadian national day”

  1. The Acadian National Day is kind of like the 4th of July, except in reverse. More of an Un-Independence Day.

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