Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day for the year 2024 is celebrated/observed on Saturday, June 24th. There are until the next observance.

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, June 24, is a national holiday in the Canadian province of Quebec and is observed by French Canadians worldwide, particularly in Canada and the United States. It commemorates the traditional feast day of the nativity (or birth) of St. John the Baptist. For civic festivities, the religious element of the festival has been de-emphasized, and “la Saint-Jean” is now mostly a celebration of francophone culture and history, complete with public events, parades, barbecues, picnics, and fireworks. Happy Saint-Jean-Baptiste!

📆 When is Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day?

This year, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day is on June 24th. It is the 4th Saturday in June; in 2024, it is on Monday.

Countdown to Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day

Did you know: Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day is also known as St. John the Baptist Day, “La Saint-Jean,” “Fête nationale du Québec,” and Quebec’s National Holiday.

You can also explore all fascinating things you didn’t know about and facts about June 24, 2023.

📜 History of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day

People get together to celebrate Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day and the Francophone culture with outdoor events, parades, concerts, and fireworks beginning on June 23. Neighborhoods also have smaller events like bonfires, barbecues, and picnics. The emblem of this celebration is the white fleur-de-lis found on Quebec’s flag. At Fête nationale du Québec activities, the flag is flown and waved in the official colors of the day, blue and white.

More than 100 years have passed since Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day’s inception. The day was initially observed as an honorary commemoration of the Christian saint John the Baptist, but in 1834, when journalist Ludger Duvernay, a Canadian-French, saw a St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Montreal, everything changed. He was inspired to create a similar holiday for French Canadians to celebrate their ancestry after witnessing the lavish celebration for an honored person. In the same year that Duvernay founded the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society, the holiday was celebrated for the first time on June 24. In 1849, the group was started with the goal of improving moral and social development.

After years of intermittent celebration, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day eventually became a recognized holiday in Quebec in 1925. Since then, the day has been honored annually and has grown to represent Francophone culture.

☑️ Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day facts

Symbols for the day
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day is represented by the Quebec flag and the fleur-de-lis.

He baptized Jesus
John the Baptist, a Jewish preacher who baptized Jesus Christ, is known in French as Jean Baptiste.

John the Baptist saved
On the basis of their confession of sins, John baptized Jewish people in the Jordan River.

Things to do on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day

Have a neighborhood picnic
One of the best parts of St. Jean is that the celebration flows from the big city events to all the neighborhoods and towns. Organize a potluck picnic with your block buddies.

Grab a seat near the water for fireworks
There’s no better place to view fireworks than directly on the ocean, where you’ll have a front-row seat to the stunning, booming, shimmering displays, both in the air and in their magical reflection on the seas.

Learn French
French is one of the most beautiful languages in the world. And it is the official language of many nations, not only France and Canada. Learn the language so you can converse with a fellow francophone.

📅 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day Observances

YEAR DATE DAY
2023 June 24 Saturday
2024 June 24 Monday
2025 June 24 Tuesday
2026 June 24 Wednesday
2027 June 24 Thursday

See all June holidays, including Religious and other Canadian holidays.

We will continue to update this page with new information and cool facts about Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day. So be sure to check back soon.