Tales by Candlelight: The Rich Folklore of French-Canadian and Acadian Winters
How storytelling and music brightened the darkest days
Rediscovering Winter Tales and Music
As December 21, 2024, approaches, you might notice just how long the nights are in our part of the world.
This darkest time of year inspired centuries of traditions among French-Canadian and Acadian communities. While Christmas and New Year’s Eve are well-known events, the period around the Winter Solstice was also a season for storytelling, singing, and passing on oral traditions that brightened the gloom of long, cold evenings.
Ethnographers and historians have uncovered a wealth of winter folklore: ghost stories, cautionary legends, and special tunes that helped families and neighbours endure the darkness.
These tales, often tied to religious calendars or old-world customs, adapted to Canadian winters. By exploring them, you can gain a richer understanding of the cultural fabric that kept communities connected before modern lights and screens took over.
Folklore in the Dark – Stories Told at Midwinter
During the weeks around the solstice, households often relied on oral storytelling to entertain and instruct.
One famous French-Canadian legend that made frequent rounds at winter gatherings is “La Chasse-galerie” (The Flying Canoe). Though more commonly associated with New Year’s Eve, it was told throughout the long nights of December and January. The tale involves a group of lumberjacks who make a supernatural deal to fly their canoe through the night sky, racing across dark forests to visit loved ones.
The cautionary message: honour the bonds of friendship, but beware of bargains struck in desperation.
Acadians, too, had their share of winter stories.
According to records at the Centre d’études acadiennes Anselme-Chiasson at Université de Moncton (https://www.umoncton.ca/umcm-ceaac/), Acadian storytellers passed down frightful tales of werewolves (“le loup-garou”) and phantom ships seen off the coast. Some stories featured characters who tested their faith against the forces of darkness, reflecting the tension between spiritual devotion and the unknown.
These legends, retold year after year, offered moral lessons and helped make sense of a harsh environment.
For more on Acadian folklore, you can consult the “Contes acadiens” collections. A portion of these have been digitized by institutions like the Digital Archives Initiative at Memorial University (https://collections.mun.ca/digital/) and the Musée acadien at Université de Moncton.
The Role of the Church Calendar
While the solstice itself wasn’t a formal church holiday, the Christmas and Epiphany season overlapped with these dark weeks.
Advent and early January were prime times for telling stories. After attending Midnight Mass, families often lingered over the Réveillon feast and shared legends like “La Dame Blanche” (the White Lady), a ghostly figure said to appear on certain winter nights. These stories weren’t told just for their scares; they also taught children about community values and trust in neighbours.
Foods served might include:
Tourtière: A savoury meat pie, different regions having their own recipes.
Ragoût de pattes de cochon: A pork stew that warmed bellies in the winter cold.
Bûche de Noël: A rolled sponge cake shaped like a log.
The Réveillon was a time to sing old songs, share stories from the past year, and make a toast for the months ahead while filling your belly in the company of friends and family. These rituals, foods and gatherings connected people directly to their heritage.
Specific Acadian Tales for the Season
Acadian communities, with their roots in the Maritimes, adapted old French stories to local landscapes.
For example, some folklore mentions the phantom brigantine, a ghost ship rumoured to appear off the Acadian coast during the darkest nights, as documented in local histories and oral recordings collected by Acadian folklorists like Anselme Chiasson. This ship, glowing dimly against the starry sky, served as a reminder that spiritual mysteries lingered just beyond the edge of human understanding.
Another recurring theme is “La Quête des âmes” (the quest of souls), a tale sometimes whispered during Advent: wandering souls appear to ask for prayers or light.
Given the scarcity of artificial lighting, the moral was clear—cherish your light, both physical and spiritual, during dark times.
Music to Warm the Long Nights
Music also provided comfort and joy.
Families and neighbours gathered indoors, away from icy winds, and sang traditional French-Canadian and Acadian folk songs. Some popular winter tunes included “La Guignolée,” a door-to-door begging song performed around New Year’s. There’s a well-known recording of “La Guignolée” archived at the Canadian Museum of History (https://www.historymuseum.ca) and on various folk music preservation websites.
For specifically Acadian music, you can look up the Centre de musique canadienne en atlantique (http://www.cmcal.ca/) and the Acadian Archives at the University of Maine at Fort Kent (https://www.umfk.edu/archives/) which hold recordings and lyrics to old songs.
Traditional Acadian ballads like “Isabeau s’y promène” were sung in winter gatherings, their rhythms making it easy to remember the words and pass them on. You can also explore the Alan Lomax Collection (https://www.culturalequity.org/), which holds field recordings of French-Canadian and Acadian songs made by folklorists travelling through the region in the mid-20th century.
For French-Canadian fiddle tunes and traditional songs that might grace a winter evening, you can visit the Virtual Museum of Canada (now archived) or look into recordings by heritage music groups like La Bottine Souriante. Although more contemporary, they often include older folk tunes in their repertoire. The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) (https://www.nfb.ca/) also hosts some documentaries highlighting traditional music.
Specific Resources for Folklore and Archives
Here are some resources and links where you can learn more about these winter customs:
Centre d’études acadiennes Anselme-Chiasson (Université de Moncton): (https://www.umoncton.ca/umcm-ceaac/)
Their collection includes folklore recordings, stories, and ethnographic notes on Acadian winter traditions.
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ): (https://www.banq.qc.ca/)
Search their digital collections for French-Canadian winter tales, old printed chapbooks (called “almanachs”), and early ethnographic studies.
Canadian Museum of History: (https://www.historymuseum.ca/)
You can find Marius Barbeau’s collections of French-Canadian folk songs, many recorded or transcribed in the early 20th century, including tunes sung in the weeks surrounding the solstice.
Folklore Studies at Laval University: (http://www.folklore.ulaval.ca/)
Offers resources on French-Canadian customs, including winter feast traditions and recorded narratives.
Acadian Archives/Archives acadiennes (University of Maine at Fort Kent): (https://www.umfk.edu/archives/)
Houses documents and recordings related to Acadian heritage, where you can find specific tales told during the long nights of December and January.
Bringing These Traditions into Your Home
If you’re curious about adding a touch of French-Canadian or Acadian tradition to your own winter solstice celebrations:
Try a classic ballad: Search online for “La Guignolée” or “À la Claire Fontaine” and learn a few verses. YouTube and the Canadian Museum of History’s online database often provide recordings or lyrics.
Make a traditional dish: Bake a tourtière or a sugar pie (“tarte au sucre”) as part of a simple meal. While preparing it, you might share a story you’ve found in an online archive.
Host a storytelling night: Invite friends over, dim the lights, and read a short Acadian legend from the resources listed above. You’ll find that these old stories can still captivate modern listeners.
By taking even one small element—like learning a song or reading a tale—you keep these old traditions alive in a new setting.
Light in the Darkness
For French-Canadian and Acadian communities, the Winter Solstice and the surrounding weeks were never just about enduring darkness.
They created a world of stories, songs, and legends that infused long nights with meaning. Specific legends like “La Chasse-galerie” or Acadian ghost ships offered excitement and moral guidance. Traditional tunes warmed the heart. Door-to-door singing groups like those performing “La Guignolée” turned harsh conditions into opportunities for community care.
By exploring archives, websites, and recordings, you can discover these treasures of winter folklore.
As the solstice passes and days slowly lengthen, remember that within these old stories and songs lies a reminder that even the coldest, darkest season can be made bright with imagination, rituals, and the voices of those who came before us.
Modern Resurgence and Preservation
Not all of these customs are gone.
In some communities, people still sing carols door-to-door or hold a Réveillon meal. Cultural associations often host special events to revive old traditions, inviting elders to share memories. Museums and libraries sometimes hold workshops where you can learn how to bake certain pastries or practice the old songs. Some churches still ring their bells late at night on Christmas Eve, reminding listeners of what once was common practice.
There’s also a growing interest in reclaiming these traditions as a way to connect with the past.
Young families who want to teach their children about their heritage may choose to incorporate parts of these customs—like playing old songs or making a special meal on a dark December evening.
The Winter Solstice Connection
As December 21 approaches this year, think about the solstice as a reminder of how people in the past lived closely with nature’s cycles.
While winters were tough, it could be a reason to share, to feast, to sing, and to support one another. The Winter Solstice and the holidays that follow offered a chance to take stock of the past year and look forward to brighter days ahead. While many of these customs have changed or faded with time, the stories and records remain.
This year, as you watch the daylight fade, remember these traditions and the people who kept them. Their customs show that even in the longest nights, we can find warmth, friendship, and hope—values that still matter, especially during Canada’s deep winter season.
Share Your French-Canadian or Acadian Solstice Stories
Your turn. Do you have any rituals or stories connected to French-Canadian or Acadian roots that remember the darkest part of the year from days gone by? Take a quick sec. to type a comment and share your stories. I look forward to reading them all (and hope that any involving folklore aren’t too scary).
And then have a rad rest of your day!
Sources used to research this story
https://querythepast.com/winter-customs-louis-frechette/
https://modernefrancos.com/intro-french-canadian-folklore/
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/christmas-in-canada
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/acadian-folklore-studies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folklore_of_Quebec
https://www.lisaornstein.com/useful-links-for-quebecois-music-and-dance/
https://nimbus.ca/store/acadian-traditions-on-candlemas-day.html
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/acadian-culture