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La St-Jean in Lewiston-Auburn

Stuffed sheep, Lewiston, ca. 1890

Stuffed sheep, Lewiston, ca. 1890

Item 18414 info
Franco-American Collection, University of Southern Maine Libraries

The parades stopped in 1966, replaced by St-Jean-Baptiste banquets and Franco-American summer festivals.

Changing times, including the closing of some parish schools, the disbanding of some Franco-American organizations, and other Americanizing influences led to the end of the parades.

In Québec, the parti québécois secularized the event in 1977, renaming it La Fète Nationale.