Carnaval de Québec

Bonhomme

The Carnaval’s host is Bonhomme Carnaval: white as snow, seven feet tall and weighing 400 pounds of packed snow, dressed in a red tuque and the arrow sash of French-Canadian tradition. He first appeared at the Porte Saint-Louis on 9 January 1955, when the mayor, Wilfrid Hamel, gave him the keys to the city — a ceremony repeated at the start of every Carnaval, confirming him as king of the festivities. Unlike the straw or wooden carnival figures of Europe that are burned on Shrove Tuesday, the organisers point out, Bonhomme simply leaves at the end of the Carnaval and comes back the following winter.

Sashes, trumpets and ice

Red clothing, carnival songs, the arrow sash and Bonhomme’s Effigy are traditions dating back to the Carnaval’s beginnings. The ceinture fléchée, the arrow sash, was worn in the nineteenth century to tighten coats against the cold and support the back; its weaving mixes Native American and French-Canadian methods, and the Carnaval has helped keep it alive. Along the route of the night parade, long red or blue trumpets — which can reach 114 decibels — set the mood.

The main site is on the Plains of Abraham, where snow sculptures are displayed and part of the park becomes a winter playground. The opening and closing ceremonies are held at the ice palace, and the programme includes outdoor sports such as ice canoe racing, dog-sledding and snowshoeing, outdoor dance parties and the famous snow bath, in which participants in swimsuits roll in the snow.

Since 1894

Celebrating from late January to mid-February is an old tradition. Québec City held its first major winter carnival in 1894, but wars and the Great Depression interrupted it, and it returned only sporadically. In 1954 a group of business people relaunched the festivities to promote the city’s economy and chose Bonhomme as its representative, and the first modern Carnaval took place in 1955. Around 1,400 volunteers help organise it every year.