Last Addition: September 25, 2005
Date: Tue, 01 Jan 2002 23:35:43
From: Jacques L'Heureux

In my family and in my first wife's family (also from Québec), the father always blessed the children on New Year's morning. We both were from the Trois-Rivières area.

After moving to the US 40 years ago, we continued the tradition and this morning (like they do every New Year's), my three daughters all called me to ask for their paternal blessing. And they also do it in their own families with their children.

I looked for references to this custom on the web and I only found one (in Manitoba) at

It said:

Holiday Facts...

New Years Blessing: Father Fourmond wrote this about paternal blessing in 1878: These good people have a very touching custom: as soon as they come in, they kneel down before their priest and ask him for his blessing. Similarly, when they get up on the morning of that day, children customarily ask their father to bless them.

Is this tradition still alive in your families?

How about those of you still living in Québec?

 

Jacques
Columbia, MD

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