Maritimers celebrate National Acadian Day

MONCTON, N.B. – Festivities across the province kicked off Friday to celebrate Acadian culture and history.

“I’m an Acadian, 100 per cent,” said Gisele Robichaud, who moved back to Moncton five years ago after spending 36 years living in Victoria, B.C.

“Today means for me that we were finally able to have French schools and a French university and we are not afraid to speak French compared to my parents and my grandparents.”

“It’s a day to remember where you come from, where we come from as a nation,” said Pier-Luc Brousseau. “You do it for fun, but you also do it with culture in mind, you listen to radio stations, you listen to different kind of music and you really take care of that heritage to make sure that it lives on, not that it stays in class or stays theoretical. It actually stays living.”

The day is celebrated across the Maritimes. Canada officially declared National Acadian Day in 2003 with a law passed in Parliament, but the first celebrations date back to 1881.

“There was a lot of debate about it, what day should they pick,” said Gregory Kennedy, an assistant professor of history at the Universite de Moncton. “They picked the 15th of August because they wanted to have a day that was different from Quebec and because in the Acadian Catholic Faith, there was a lot of emphasis on Mary. The 15th of August is the feast day of the Assumption of Mary.”

The yellow star that appears on the Acadian flag is a symbol of Mary, the Stella Maris.

“I think the role of Mary is sort of the mother,” said Kennedy. “Mary had a difficult time too, right? She had to travel. It was a time when they faced persecution in the Roman empire.”

Now, one of the most beloved traditions is the ‘tintamarre’; the tradition of marching through the community making noise with improvised instruments and noise-makers. It is meant to remind others of the presence of Acadians.