French Acadian/Cajun Invitations
Have you every wondered how our Acadian ancestors lived? What did they do for entertainment? Well a few days ago I was looking through our newspaper and Jesse Robichaud wrote an article entitled “Acadians no other people on earth”. I read the article and many things stuck out. It was an article regarding the manuscripts of Rev Andrew Brown who wa a Scottish Presbyterian minister. He was in Halifax 30 years after the deportation according to historian and professional archeologist Sara Beanland who said that anyone interested in the turbulent period of the history of the Maritimes should be thankful for Brown’s labour. Since he was in Halifax 30 years after the deportation when you read his manuscripts you feel like you are there instead of reading about it some 200 years later.Sara Beanlands will be presenting her master thesis research on Brown’s portrayal of the Acadians for the Tantramar Historical Society on April 14 2010 at 7 pm at Live Bait Theater in Sackville. ( I bet this would be very interesting).
Rev Andrew Brown smuggled sensitive government documents out of Province House at night and copied them by hand under candlelight. Getting back to the beginning of my story, Rev Brown talks about the Acadian people in his manuscripts ,he focussed on Pisiquit near Windsor instead of Port Royal and Beaubassin. He makes the point that Acadians are like no other people on earth. That these people were attached to their land and happy in their state of affairs.He said that the Acadians were strong ,happy people, they were poets (I like poetry grin),they sang wonderful songs, he talks about the way they disciplined their children said Beanlands. He talks about how the children are taught in the orchards, even if they were not educated in schools they were very intelligent, they were philosophers without books, this is what he said. Brown focusses on specific aspects of the Acadians lives from architecture to their social life, which in Pisiquit revolved around the orchards.The orchard was where mothers taught their children, where families gathered and where young girls flirted with young boys. Mothers exercised their children when they first began to walk ,in the orchard.On Sunday evenings during the summertime it was the chosen scene of family devotion. According to Sara Beanlands Rev Brown filled his manuscripts with details about the buildings and the artifats that sat on the shelf. Apparently when you read the part about his describing the houses you feel as if you are right there in the room.
These are little things that are important regarding our ancestors, I would love to sit down and read the entire Rev Brown’s manuscripts or even to attend that thesis by Sara Beanlands.
Today you and I should write down things we do, kinds of music we like, songs we like, places we’ve been. Where was our favorite gathering place?And write down what we have learned about our Acadian ancestors or any ancestor for that matter. If you have stories about your other lines, Irish,English,German,French Canadian,Native Americans, some that were passed down to you, write them down ,preserve them, share them with others , the more you share with others, the better chance of these stories surviving years from now. I enjoy reading that our ancestors loved music, and poetry,and singing, very probably dancing too. It makes them real, it makes them come alive. Now to end this blog, I added a french invitation image for anyone who is planning a reunion, you just fill in what you want to, I also have more invitations on my gallery, some more Acadians plus many others,the Acadians will be in the Acadian folders and go to greeting cards and invitations for the rest. http://www.zazzle.com/allicor*
Thanks for the lovely visit, do stop by again, you never know what I will be blogging next.
Have a great day
Zazzyallicor
