On the 24th of June, Quebec celebrates the Fjte Nationale, formerly known as the Fjte de la Saint-Jean.

Saint John is known as the Precursor of Christ, the light of the world - thus the link with the solstice and the bonfires.

The origin of the holiday was the pagan celebration of the summer solstice; a celebration of light and a symbol of hope. Then, in the reign of the French king Clovis, the annual event was christianized and became a religious celebration of the birth of John the Baptist.

The religious festival of Jean Baptiste had particular importance for all the catholics of Europe, and especially for those of France, where in the night from the 23 to June 24 in Paris, the king of France himself would light the bonfire.

Once in America, the French continued to celebrate this event: the Relations des Jisuites refer to the custom as early as 1636, when Quebec City had a population of about 200. But it was then a very pious, religious festival, with processions in the streets of the city.

By the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, the annual celebration had grown and was celebrated with much fanfare everywhere and large processions in Montreal and Quebec City. In 1925, the Quebec legislature declared the 24th of June a holiday. The first 'nationalist' celebration.