🌲 Familiar Trees And Their Leaves New York D. Appleton 1911

Folk Ways for an Acadian or French Canadian folk practitioner

I want to start an ongoing list of Acadian and French Canadian religious and popular folk ways that I've been learning about for the last two years. My references will be at the end for further reading!

Blessing a candle on Candlemas (Feb. 2) with holy water will allow you to have a light whenever there is sickness and storms hitting your home. Traditionally on Candlemas, the light is lit and guided through every room in the house to bless all its corners for the year. It was even paraded in the farmer's fields. (Dupont)

The 25th April, on St. Mark's Day, is the ideal day to bless your fields or garden before putting in the first seeds. This ensures the growing food to be blessed by this saint. (Maillet)

Animals have been known to speak in human tongues on Christmas Eve. (Maillet)

If you feel that nothing is going right in your day, your homemade bread sours, or general bad luck assails you, simply boil some holy medals. (Dupont)

The first three days of the month of August, the ocean waters are known to have healing properties, and it wouldn't hurt to dip your feet in it. (Chiasson)

It was customary to trace crosses on windows using holy water when a storm would hit. (Lacroix)

To find a lost object, simply toss a rosary or a pocket metal rosary over your shoulder. The foot of the cross will point in the direction where your lost object might be located. (Dupont)

To have good weather on your wedding day, be sure to hang your rosary on your clothes line the day before. (Dupont)

Maillet, Antonine. Rabelais et les traditions populaires en Acadie. Les presses de l'université laval, quebec. 1980.

Lacroix, Benoit. Folklore de la mer et religion. Editions Leméac, 1980.

Dupont, Jean-Claude. Héritage d'Acadie. Collection Connaissance, editions Leméac, 1977.

Chiasson, Père Anselme. Chéticamp: histoire et traditions acadiennes. Editions des Aboiteaux, 1972.

thank you for this! It really explains traditional ways and contextualizes it for today!

12 Things You Need to Know About Traditional Spells

Why are traditional spells so goddamn weird?

There is no black or white magic.

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We do not cast spells against haunted places.

Do not mistake grimoires for journals and scrapbooks.

We call it the Ritual of Wandering.

Shielding is entirely pointless.

Gold and Silver in Witchcraft

Why Blood Magic is Powerful

La Saint François d'Assise

October 4th marks St. Francis of Assisi's feast day! St. Francis if Assisi (1181-1226) was an Italian mystic, poet and Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Venerated across multiple Christian denominations and traditions, he has patronage over the environment and animals.

For today, I blessed all four of my cats with a little cross of holy water on their foreheads, and said a prayer over my cat Moonshadow's collar. She wears a St. Francis of Assisi medal on her tags.

Cherish your animals today, and love them, pray for a long companionship.

Happy Transgender Day of Visibility to all trans folks no matter their identities! And for a roll call, trans man here, pronouns he/him, in the middle of my medical transition. No matter what your journey looks like, you are a treasure, a gem, and you are worth the journey you're taking. Photo: me posing as Maude Adams 1901 "L'Aiglon" outfit I tailored myself.

Joyeuse Journée de Visibilité Trans a tous les gens transgenres qu'importe leurs identités! Et pour me présenter, homme transgenre ici, pronoms 'il/ils", en plein milieu de sa transition médicale. Qu'importe où tu te trouves dans ton cheminement, tu es un trésor, sans pair, qui vaut la peine pour le changement que tu embrasse.

Photo: moi dans l'ensemble 1901 "L'Aiglon", un habit reproduit de Maude Adams, cousu par moi-même.

A drive along the coasts of Cape Breton, in Main-de-Dieu, Louisbourg, and Sydney. Various graveyards, with time-worn statues, and an abandoned church. The first photo of Christ has the Fortress of Louisbourg in the background.

Spending Holy Saturday exploring these lonely, holy places really brought me joy!

Nativity Scene

I'm finally ready for Advent season tomorrow with my new Nativity scene. My grandfather built his own Nativity scene for under the Christmas tree, as is most common in Quebecois and Acadian Christian homes. The baby Jesus of course doesn't make it to this set until Christmas Day, but I wanted to show off my hard work at transforming these figures and box from Dollarama into something unique and spectacular. On the cover of the box, I painted a landscape from the Magdalen Islands, where my Acadian ancestors lived. A happy Advent to all my fellow Christians, witches and believers of all denominations celebrating this holy time.

Folk Altar Stained Glass Painted Windows

I finished my stained glass painted windows today, and I'm so proud of them! The window's scene selections were to highlight important parts of my path as a catholic folk practitioner in my Quebec and Acadian culture. The scene on the right is a painting originally by Clarence Gagnon (Harvesting, c.1928-33) portraying some farmers in the fields of Charlevoix. The center window showcases the Star of the Sea, patron saint of the Acadians, keeping a ship safe in an ocean storm. (My own design). And the last window shows a scene from the folk tale "la chasse-galerie" from Honoré Beaugrand, when a group of woodsmen make a deal with the Devil to fly in an airborne magic canoe to visit their families on New Year's Eve. My practice entails researching my family's agricultural lifestyles and crafts, their religious life, and their folk tales.

My next project will be to paint the medallions on the doors of the altar cabinet.

Mhm God I love seeing landscapes like this! It calls out to me!

Waiting for the storm - stormy morning in the Ecrins National Park, France - @gregoire_pns_photography [OC 2000x3000] - Author: greg_pns

La Chandeleur

Candlemas, or La Chandeleur as it is known in French-speaking Catholic communities, starts on the evening of February 1st into February 2nd. It commemorates Jesus's presentation at the Temple (Luke 2:22-40) as the Light of the World.

The Blessed Candle

This time of year is full of light festivals all over the world. For Acadians, la Chandeleur is celebrated with the blessing of a candle at church at 8am, and bringing it home to in turn bless the home.

The blessed candle is kept at the parents' bedside, or on a tiny shelf in the kitchen. It would be lit during big storms, as a foil to lightning, during periods of illness, a hard childbirth, and when a death occurs in the house. When a priest would visit the house to provide communion to a sick parishioner, the candle would be lit and carried to guide the priest to the ailing person's bedside, and the same rite would apply to the final rites of a dying person. The flame remains lit during the wake. The candle is also lit during Marial devotions during the month of May. If healing is prayed for during a novena, it also doesn't hurt to light this candle.

Once those candles are blessed, the master of the home is to bring the lit candle to every corner of the house to bless it with its light. They would also bring this light to the barn and the fields for blessings. Many families boast of a special candle holder just for this candle.

On Prince Edward Island, pieces of this candle's wax were also brought aboard on fishing boats along with woven palm fronds, and were meant to keep the fisherman safe during storms at sea.

Acadian Candle Blessing

"Daignez bénir et sanctifier ces cierges pour notre usage, pour la santé des corps et des âmes, sur terre comme sur mer."

"May these candles be blessed and sanctified for our use, for the health of our bodies and souls, on land as on the sea."

Chandeleur Crêpes

It's also a crêpe-making day!!! On the eve of this holiday (Feb.1), families would make crêpes for dinner, often using the last of last year's flour. This stems from medieval France, when peasants would use the previous year's flour (most likely their only flour left) to ensure the next year's harvest would be bountiful. It is tradition in Acadie to have every member of the household flip their own crêpe, to determine if a successful flip would grant them luck for the year. Some families even kept a piece of the crêpe in their cupboard all year long to ward off bad luck.

Crêpe recipe

One cup white flour

1 1/4 cup of milk

1/2 tsp of salt

1 cup of freshly fallen snow, compacted (nowadays, I wouldn't recommend it. Snow falls on the ground polluted. It used to be a common ingredient in Acadian and Quebecois cooking. You can skip it and the recipe would still turn out fine.)

Frying grease or vegetable shortening, or butter for the pan.

Serve with molasses or grated maple sugar.

A Season of Giving

It is also a time in Acadian villages where folks would go around and ask for donations to their local food banks or church soup kitchen service. They would parade with a tall staff with a rooster figure on top (called a chief's cane) and with each donation, a ribbon is added to the stick. In the evening, when the village would gather for a community potluck, people could reclaim their ribbons from the rooster staff. Festivities of fiddle playing, dancing and merriment were in order in most homes and community centres.

Acadian communities like Chéticamp and other small Acadian hamlets still celebrate to this day!

Ideas for Anyone Far from a Community

Seeing as I don't live in an Acadian community sadly, here are some ideas of things I can do, and maybe you can do too, to celebrate today!

Make crêpes and perform the best flip! Your luck depends on it!

Bless your own candle with holy water, parade it to every corner of your home.

Create a chief's cane, and plant it in your front yard. With every donation you accept for a food bank or other charitable effort, add a ribbon, heck, ask your neighbours and friends to participate!

Organize a potluck!

Use the wax from the candle to bless the lintel post of your doors, or other objects you wish to bless.

Bonus photo: Moonshadow blocking my holiday book's Chandeleur page and refusing to move.

Source

Georges Arsenault. La Chandeleur en Acadie. Editions la Grande Marée. 2011.

Painting

La Chandeleur. Painting by Camille Cormier, painted in 1984. Oil on canvas. Coll. Musée Acadien, Moncton University. Acq. 1986-17.

Holy Week – La Semaine Sainte

Holy Week (April 13-April 19th 2025) – movable festivities

My favourite week when it comes to spirituality and activities to do! 

I started observing Holy Week in earnest in 2020, during our lockdowns. I remember my first observance as being one of anxiety, and a need to feel comfort. My practice helped me get through it, and I’m happy to share this special week with all of you this year. 

“Alleluia, Alleluia, L’carême s’en va, Il reviendra, À Mardi gras.” 

-cantique acadienne du Samedi Saint. (Halleluiah, Halleluiah, Lent is leaving, only coming back on Shrove Tuesday)

Palm Sunday (picture above: my front door's palm frond set up)

The week begins with Palm Sunday! I have memories of visiting my grandmother in Saguenay and she’d bring back palm fronds for us to weave. We usually wove them up in little beehive shapes and pinned them to our front doors for protection all year long, since they were blessed with Holy Water at the church service. Most churches have a basket where you can deposit the palm fronds of last year. These are burned and provide the ashes for the next Ash Wednesday. The fresh palm fronds can be used to weave little baskets, little beehives, or they can be cut to the proper length for a bookmark for your devotional books or Bibles. You can paint on them too! 

(features Acadian dialect terms for plants) Historically, Acadian communities like Chéticamp didn’t receive palms, it being troublesome to export to this isolated community in the Cape Breton Highlands. So, the faithful would bring cedar branches (thuya), club-moss (sévigny), juniper (chenave) or pine twigs (pruce) from the Highland mountains nearby. After being blessed at church, these tokens would be placed at the entrances of all buildings or assets on the property (fishing boats, cars, barns, and all rooms within the family home, even the cellar) for protection all year-round (1). If you want, feel free to find those plants responsibly and use them in your practice instead of palm fronds!

Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday and Holy Wednesday: usually has church services relating specific stories from the Gospel. I don’t tend to do much on those days. Honestly, I usually use those days to do some spring cleaning, prepare myself for the coming day’s rituals and festivities, and take some quiet time for myself to read passages, or bake for the coming holiday. 

Maundy Thursday (picture above, my own Holy Oils)

The beginning of the Paschal Triduum (begins on this evening, into Holy Saturday’s Vigil). This day commemorates the Last Supper. The Chrism Mass is celebrated on this day, where the Holy Oils are blessed for the surrounding parishes. While this Mass is celebrated privately by the clergy in the Catholic Church, I like to celebrate in my own way. In the way that this celebration brings together all twelve apostles, as a Christian witch, I spend time with my meal that day, pondering on the apostles’ gifts they each possess, I contemplate what that Last Supper must have been like, and I bless my own oils for my folk magic purposes. Holy Oils: the Oil of the Sick, the Oil of the Catechumens, and the Holy Chrism Oil. The Oil of the Sick is pure olive oil and is used to anoint a sick or elderly person on the forehead and hands with a cross, paired with special prayers. They can be administered in any time and place. This can have a powerful impact on the placebo effect of faith on healing and bring courage and strength to the ailing person. The Oil of the Catechumens, also olive oil, is used for many things. It is used to anoint those about to undergo the Sacrament of Baptism, both infant and adults. This is to allow to receiver to be prepared to receive the wisdom and strength to learn Christian lessons during their religious quest. It is also used as a protection oil to ward off evil spirits on a baptism initiate. The Holy Chrism Oil is olive oil mixed with balsam. This oil represents strength, and the balsam is known as ‘the aroma of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 2:15). This oil is meant to give the receiver the gift of the Holy Spirit, and to devote something to God’s service. This oil is also used to anoint the altar and vessels used during Mass, as well as during the ordination of a priest. Already, these oils can have many uses within an individual folk practitioner’s spiritual habits, such as dedicating oneself to a path, blessing the altar, the working tools for rituals, and yourself when you need to reset your faith. During Holy Week on Holy Thursday, otherwise known as ‘The Chrism Mass’, the local bishop blesses enough new oils for every parish for later distribution. To bless these oils, the bishop does them in order as listed above, says a prayer to bless them individually. To bless the Chrism Oil, the bishop mixes oil from the balsam plant with the olive oil, breathes on the mixed oil to signify the presence of the Holy Spirit, and then says a prayer to consecrate it. For the individual practitioner, if you want officially blessed oils from the church, many Christian shops sell amounts of them, but if you want to individualize your practice, feel free to bless them yourself for a day where you’re feeling sick, need extra protection, or need to bless your space once more. 

Good Friday

On this day, we commemorate Jesus’s crucifixion and death on the cross. It’s a day of sorrow and reflection. For my part, I like attending Good Friday services in my area, and I wear all black on that day. 

It is tradition to remain silent from noon till 3pm, to commemorate Jesus’s last moments of life, as he is noted to have died at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Families with young children would encourage the kids to pray or to go to bed for a nap, to ensure they remained quiet. My great-grandmother has memories of going through that silent vigil with impatience! For myself, I like to take time to light a candle at 3pm, while doing my best to remain quiet without distractions from noon until that time. In church, the priest would ensure the Sanctuary where the Tabernacle resides is empty of the Host, and the candle extinguished. The altar is laid bare of décor. I do the same. I empty my Tabernacle lantern of the Host and make sure I don’t light candles near it. I take off my altar cloth and décor, and lay a black pall over the entire cabinet. 

In some Acadian communities, if bad weather prevented the family from traveling to church, the family would set up a white cloth on the kitchen table, place the crucifix on it, and each family member needs to kiss it. Afterwards, the head of the family would recite from the Roman Missal. They also read their Way of the Cross (chemin de la croix) at home or in church. (2) It was also imperative to avoid butchering farm animals or go out hunting wild game on this day. Fishermen out at sea would do their Passiontide readings and note the direction from which the wind came from, for they knew that if they did so, the wind’s direction would remain faithful for the remaining year. 

Holy Saturday 

My all-time favourite spiritual and religious experience of the calendar year! I love it because I don’t think there’s any other day in the liturgical calendar where parishioners are expected to participate in as much as this day. It is meant to take the believer from the times of Genesis with the creation of all that exists in this world, to the first fire and the first waters, and translate that into the renewal of baptisms, the lighting of a new Easter fire, and the gradual lighting of all candles in the chapel to symbolise the growing victory of light in the face of so much darkness and death. All lights and church candles were extinguished since Thursday, and the only candle that will be lit is the Paschal candle, inscribed with this year’s date. I like to attend the University of King’s College Chapel services in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for this ritual, given the intimate chapel venue, the vibes of the clergy, and how lively it gets. We bring the Paschal candle outside and bless it with the fire from the Holy Spirit. We bless the baptismal font and the Holy Water inside, and a series of litanies and chants are done, as everyone holds a little candle in their hands, lit from that Paschal pillar. Once it hits midnight, the entire chapel lights up again, and all the bells chime loudly, announcing Christ’s resurrection. The choir bursts into joyful song, and it really is the most lively and impactful service. Partying ensues until dawn for us, with a feast of lamb and an array of dishes brought in from a multicultural scene. 

In Acadian communities, Holy Saturday celebrate their first midnight mass of the year (the other one being Christmas eve). From a small fire at the church entrance, parishioners light their own candles. Hymns of Halleluiah and joyful rhythms take the choir and congregation in song. I definitely want to see how these services are done in French, and one day, if I’m lucky, I’ll attend. 

Easter Sunday (photo above: the Saguenay River)

On Easter morning, before the sun comes up, many faithful in communities in Québec and some in Acadie would wake up and head over to the nearest brook to collect “l’eau de Pâques” (Easter Water). This coveted water would be known to heal certain ailments and protect against lightning. Often, it was noted as having the same virtues as Holy Water provided by a priest. It needed to be collected against the current of the brook, before sunrise. To do this journey was known to “voir danser le soleil de Pâques et aller au ruisseau quérir de l’eau de Pâques.” (to go see the Easter sun dance, and go seek out the Easter Water.) It was told that on Easter morning, the sun performs a dance as it rises, and that everyone should witness it at least once in their lifetime. (3) The sun is reputed to be brightest on that sunrise than any other time of year. In the south-west of Nova-Scotia, a formula needed to be recited while collecting this special water, “Bénie soit cette eau, qui guérit tous les maux.” (Made holy may this water be, to heal all ails.). This tradition still is practiced in the north-west of New Brunswick today. In regions of Québec and Acadie, it is paramount that parishioners and believers take at least one Eucharist mass between Ash Wednesday and la Quasimodo (the 2nd Sunday of Eastertide). It is known in those regions as “Faire ses Pâques” (Attend your Easters). Otherwise, you’d run the risk of becoming a loup-garou or have a damned soul if you skip seven years in a row.  

Feasts for Easter in Acadian communities ranged from a breakfast of as many eggs as one could eat if they were available, right down to home-grown chicken, wild game or salt meat. After a long March of dwindling cellar stores and not much meat left, families often made due with the remains of their provisions. (4) 

Sources:

Père Anselme Chiasson. Chéticamp, Histoire et Traditions Acadiennes. Éditions les Aboiteaux. 1972. p.214

Jean-Claude Dupont. Héritage d’Acadie. Éditions Leméac. 1977. p.77 

Ibid.,308

Jude Avery. Joie de Vivre – Love of Life: Isolated Acadians celebrate their culture through traditions and folklore. New World Publishing, 2021. P.28