28 Out in the Cold 1894

Where in Canada do only 1% of all the people who live there, speak English? Where is that same place in Canada that has a city that is 400 years old? Do you know? It is the only place in Canada with a wall around the capital city. It is the place with the world's largest winter festival. Have you guessed that it is Quebec?

The word Quebec is a First Nations word that means where the river narrows. When Frenchman, Jacques Cartier, sailed up the St. Lawrence River in 1534, he built a French settlement near where Quebec City is today. Since the very beginning, the French have loved to get together in February to eat, drink, and have a party. They do this just before the Christian time of Lent.

The first Quebec Winter Carnival took place in 1894. At that time, Quebec businesses were not making a lot of money. One man thought that starting a festival would bring tourists with money to the city. He was right. About 70,000 people spent a week having fun in the snow and the cold that year. There were parades and sled rides. There were boat races on the ice, dance parties, skating and snowball fights. Lots of businesses made enough money to get through the rest of the winter without worrying.

In fact, the carnival helped all the French people living in Quebec feel better about the long and dark winter. It was so much fun that the next year it grew bigger. More events were added over the years like cutting snow and ice to make animals or castles. A contest to choose a queen and dog sled races became popular. Today there are those same events as well as games, rides, food, and even a snow bath. Those who are brave enough, take off their winter clothes. They put on bathing suits and go for a “swim” in the snow!

In 1954, the carnival's favourite snowman, Bonhomme arrived to add some fun. Bonhomme wears a red hat, a belt around his stomach and he always has a smile on his face. The Quebec Winter Carnival helped to make the Quebec economy the second strongest in Canada today.

People who go to spend money and have fun at the Quebec Winter Carnival also love to visit the old part of Quebec City.It sits on the St Lawrence Seaway(see 1890). Quebec City is the oldest city in Canada with many historical buildings that were built over 400 years ago. The hotel there, called Château Frontenac, is certainly the largest and most beautiful. It is also the most photographed hotel in all the world.

Quebec City was started by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1608. This was more than 70 years after Jacques Cartier first found Canada. Jacques named the country Canada which is a First Nations word. It means village, which is a small town, but Jacques thought it meant country. He told the French at home that he had found a country called Canada.

In 1534, Jacques was looking for the Northwest Passage to China. He thought the Saint Lawrence Seaway was it. When he got near Montreal, he was sure that China was just past the rapids there. He called the town he found at this place La Chine. It is the French word for China. That town is still called Lachine, Quebec, today.

The First Nations living at Lachine told Jacques of a place farther north that had gold. The next year France sent two ships, some men, cows, seeds, and tools to Canada. The men planted a garden with the seeds they brought from France. They started the first French village in Canada. The men found what they thought were diamonds and gold. Jacques sent one ship back to France with these. They were not diamonds. They were quartz crystals and so the French did not become rich.

The other men stayed in their village that year. They built a fort and started to trade with the First Nations. However, the First Nations did not like them. They killed about 35 of these French men. Others died of illness. The hard Canadian winters made the French who stayed want to go home. In 1543, all the French who were still alive left and went back to France. That first fort that Jacques built is still in Old Quebec City today.

The location of Quebec City on the Saint Lawrence made it a good place for trading and exports to France. In 1608, Samuel de Champlain tried again to build a village. There were 28 people that started this village in the summer. After the winter finished there were only eight still alive. Even so, the French tried again. This time Christians came in 1617. They were successful and the first French child was born in Quebec in 1620. Seven years later, Quebec City had 100 people living there. Only about 10 of them were women. Quebec City continued to grow with French people.

Canadians love Quebec City because it is so different to other Canadian cities. The stone wall that surrounds it is the only wall north of Mexico that goes all the way around a city. Quebec City is beautiful and interesting. It has the narrowest house in North America. It also has a funicular which is very rare in Canada. This is a train that goes up and down like an elevator. There are many people who say that Quebec City has the most beautiful church in Canada-Notre-Dame. Quebec City is one of the most visited places in Canada.

Quebec City is the only place in Canada where almost all the people living there speak French. It is the only city where all the signs are written in French. The French culture is very different to the culture of English-speaking Canadians. French Canadians are known all over the world for making ice wine, for their maple syrup, and now, for poutine (see 1959).

BONHOMME IS CANADA'S FAVOURITE SNOWMAN

Today, Quebec City is one of Canada's largest cities. The economy is strong. Transportation and tourism are the two biggest ways that Quebec City gets its money. Many people work for the Quebec government since it is the capital city of that province. The main things they make in Quebec City are paper, food, metal and wood items, chemicals, and electronics.