french canadian? - The PASH Wedding Forums and Message Boards

LadyFaile · #1 08-28-2006, 08:53 AM

my FH's family is french canadian, mine is not. the only wedding tradition i know of that is french canadian is the sock dance. basically, if there is an older sibling who is still single, they have to do the sock dance at the reception. the sibling who is getting married makes them some fun socks, usually just invovles sewing lots of big wierd things onto an existing pair or handmade pair of socks, the uglier the better. the older sibling wears them and has to do a silly dance in the middle of the dancefloor , the guests gather around and throw money at their feet as they dance. it's gathered up after and given to the bride and groom.

luckily i DO have an older unmarried sibling to victimize

but are there any other traditions i can include in the reception that are maybe a little less silly?

DragonYoga · #2 08-28-2006, 12:45 PM

LOL! That sounds like a perfectly evil fun thing to do!

I don't know of any other French Canadian traditions, but maybe PlanetClaire will, and a few others.

birdie · #3 08-28-2006, 02:10 PM

Ug, that sounds awful! How mean to humiliate someone just because they have chosen to not be married yet. I would be completely mortified. (But I get embarrased really easily and was the oddball in the family since I'm the last one to get married.)

LadyFaile · #4 08-28-2006, 05:40 PM

nah it's just for fun. i already told my brother he's doing it, he said "only if i can do the robot"
so i told him to start practicing

PlanetClaire · #5 08-28-2006, 11:14 PM

I honestly don't know of any! Isn't that terrible?! I've been to several weddings in Quebec and they were pretty straight-forward, run-of-the-mill sorts of weddings!

My SIL is French Canadian- I'll see if she knows any!

DragonYoga · #6 08-30-2006, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlanetClaire

I honestly don't know of any! Isn't that terrible?! I've been to several weddings in Quebec and they were pretty straight-forward, run-of-the-mill sorts of weddings!

My SIL is French Canadian- I'll see if she knows any!

So you're just Canadian, Claire?? NOW I'm confoozed????

For some weird reason I thought that Canadian and French-Canadian are the same thing (unless yer a native)...

PlanetClaire · #7 08-30-2006, 07:15 PM

Yep, just plain old vanilla Canadian!

You are considered French Canadian if French is your first language. That would mainly be if you are a Francophone from Quebec but there are pockets of Francophones all over Canada.

Does that help?

DragonYoga · #8 09-01-2006, 12:23 AM

YEP! Just one thing - francophone? A french phone? What??? lol!

PlanetClaire · #9 09-01-2006, 12:26 AM

LMAO

After I typed it I thought to myself....is she going to know what that is???

Francophone- French speaking
Anglophone- English speaking
Allophone- First language is neither E nor F

We're complicated we Canucks, aren't we?! LOL

DragonYoga · #10 09-01-2006, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlanetClaire

LMAO

After I typed it I thought to myself....is she going to know what that is???

Francophone- French speaking
Anglophone- English speaking
Allophone- First language is neither E nor F

We're complicated we Canucks, aren't we?! LOL

DAMN CANUCKS!!!!

Yes that is a bit complicated! Anything ELSE I need to know??? LOL!

PlanetClaire · #11 09-01-2006, 04:28 PM

We're all very nice and polite!!

DragonYoga · #12 09-01-2006, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlanetClaire

We're all very nice and polite!!

SOMEHOW.... I have a hard time believing THAT!

LadyFaile · #13 09-01-2006, 06:14 PM

don't forget that our beer is better than theirs.

FH's family isn't from Quebec, though a few of them do live there. we're from norhern ontario, there's tons of french speaking people/towns around there. our hometown has several french schools.
difference is that almost all french canadians outside of quebec are bilingual (in my experience. i'm sure there are some small communities that would prove me wrong) while many in quebec speak only french. so in our area there are no fights about bilingual signs and whatever, everyone just accepts that you either speak french or you don't, they're pretty easy going (now anyway, my FH's grandfather once pressured an anglo who married into the family to learn french or he wouldn't accept her. since then he lightened up and realized it didn't matter, there are quite a few anglos in the family now).
for the most part they're understanding and speak english around me, but when you get a bunch of them together in a room and toss a box of wine in the middle, the english goes out the window. family dinners, reunions etc are pretty boring, it's like hanging out with the grownups from charlie brown. (can you tell i don't speak french? lol)

cutlure wise, i'm not sure where some of their traditions come from, i imagine some are from quebec and some are from france, and some are just regional

DragonYoga · #14 09-01-2006, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyFaile

for the most part they're understanding and speak english around me, but when you get a bunch of them together in a room and toss a box of wine in the middle, the english goes out the window. family dinners, reunions etc are pretty boring, it's like hanging out with the grownups from charlie brown.

Being deaf, and the ONLY deaf person in my family (and his), I understand THAT very very well!

Totally missing a joke and wondering why everyone's laughing, then being told "I'll tell you later"...

Worse in my side, especially my mom. DF does take the time to tell me.

ANYWAY!!! I'd love to go up to Canada and visit someday...

justnmary · #15 09-01-2006, 10:42 PM

Not to hijack, but yea DY Canada is BEAUTIFUL!!! I've been across the border a few times, but you can definately tell you're in another country just by the landscape and such...very purty.

DragonYoga · #16 09-02-2006, 02:41 AM

I was across, just ONCE when I was errr 10 - 12? to see the Falls. I wanna go back...

PlanetClaire · #17 09-02-2006, 04:31 AM

Come on up!! It's great here DY! And I live right near this "Deaf Culture" Centre! I should get the website for you! I thought of you last time I went by!

Like I said my SIL is French and her family hardly speak any English. My folks are ( well Dad passed away) British and despite having lived in Quebec City for 40 years, doesn't speak much French!! So it's a fun evening of a few of us translating and then "charades" and "Franglais"- which is a combination of both languages!! But they know how to party!!!

We have lots of French Canadians in New Brunswick as well and a few other pockets.

Montreal is EXTREMELY bilingual and you only run into problems occasionally. Quebec City, where I grew up, is only bilingual during Tourist Season!! LOL Everyone miraculously speaks English for a few months and then forgets it again!! And it's the Govt that causes all the problems and grief with language laws etc..Most people think it's pretty ridiculous!

DragonYoga · #18 09-02-2006, 04:41 AM

Language laws??? Explain? I'm very curious now! lol!

If I ever get ahold of my FH (he sometimes sleeps so hard he doesn't hear his phone ringing), I'll suggest Canada for a HM instead of NZ. I'm gonna depend on YOU as our offical tour guide, and we both love horror.

The Deaf Centere sounds really interesting! Do give me the link!

SerendipityCrafts · #19 09-02-2006, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlanetClaire

We're all very nice and polite!!

Yeah! and oh so true

We live in Montreal and I while I can speak French (thanks to French Immersion), everyone can tell I am anglophone because try as I might, I just don't have the French accent.

I can make myself understood and I can understand most of what everyone is saying unless they aren't from around Montreal (French Canadian accents can differ greatly with location), or they start speaking too fast, or they use too many slang expressions. Jokes don't translate that well either. That said, I can always use either a blank look or a fake smile whenever I am in over my head.

BTW - I have never heard of the sock tradition and I have lived here almost 35 some years. Maybe it's a regional thing too?

LadyFaile · #20 09-13-2006, 05:54 PM

yes i think it might be regional

if i were to spend time in Quebec it would definately be Montreal, from what i've heard there are lots of anglos and most people are bilingual so it's easy to get around. plus i've heard people are really nice there. that's where some of my FH's family live, they keep inviting us to go stay with them for a week and go to the comedy festival, we really want to take them up on it sometime.

i don't know much about language laws, i only hear bits and pieces about it over here but i guess there's just been some fighting over things like street signs and package labels, that the government wants french to be the first language presented and english below, where in the rest of the country it is the opposite. i've heard about people having problems in some areas, where if they didn't speak french and tried to buy something or ask directions or something they had major problems, people refusing to speak english even if they know how etc. i don't think it happens as much any more, i think it was mostly a big deal when the government was pushing to seperate from the country

AngelRoseFyre · #21 09-18-2006, 04:02 AM

I am all kinds of completely confused now, I thought America could be confusing. But I guess it is always less conufing if you grow up in that culture huh?

Your sock dance sounds slightly similar to our Money Dance or Dollar Dance, where guest pay to dance with the bride and groom, by (usually) pinning money to them (well there cloths or a sash or something, not directly on to them - that would hurt). I also heard of a less commonly used version where the bride and groom dance a dance and people throw money at there feet. Thats what your sock dance reminded me of.

Do you have anything like that in Canada?

DragonYoga · #22 09-18-2006, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngelRoseFyre

Your sock dance sounds slightly similar to our Money Dance or Dollar Dance, where guest pay to dance with the bride and groom, by (usually) pinning money to them (well there cloths or a sash or something, not directly on to them - that would hurt). I also heard of a less commonly used version where the bride and groom dance a dance and people throw money at there feet. Thats what your sock dance reminded me of.

Angel, the dollar dance is a tradition in my FH's family - I'll be doing this dance! lol. For every person that I and my FH dances with, we each get a dollar. It'll be interesting - and fun!

AngelRoseFyre · #23 09-18-2006, 07:40 PM

I was thinking about it too, on my dad side of the family it is tradition, but on my moms they consider it greedey, so I dunno. Ian's whole family is impartial. But have lots of fun for me Dragon, if I choose not to.

DragonYoga · #24 09-19-2006, 05:11 PM

Ohh I plan to, Angel, I plan to!

churchmusicgirl · #25 07-11-2008, 08:17 PM

I'm marrying a French Canadian... I've never heard of the sock dance, but I should suggest it, just to see his reaction!

One thing I have noticed at the French Canadian weddings I've attended is that there is a ritual signing of the marriage contract during the ceremony. (Not like in California where you just sneak into the back room of the church and do it after mass.) I told my guy we could do this, if he wanted; I would just skip on the unity candle, which doesn't mean that much to me anyway.