Old Orchard Beach Ritual?
March 10, 2010 11:32 PM Subscribe
What weird ritual did I see at Old Orchard Beach?
Today I suddenly remembered a family vacation to Maine about 10 years ago. We went to Old Orchard Beach. I think this was in the Springtime. We were in search of the fairground area, and we suddenly found ourselves driving into what seemed to be a vigil or ritual. People were silently walking down the street, some with candles. On the front porch of one house, a girl walked back and forth with a candle. Some people may have been wearing white robes. An old man in his 70s yelled at us to get lost.
The obvious answer would be a candlelight vigil or maybe a funeral procession, but it struck us as something different. It was probably a totally banal religious event or something, but it was unnerving at the time. We felt like we were suddenly in the ending of Wicker Man or something.
Does anyone have any idea what this was? Is there some sort of annual event at Old Orchard Beach that would fit my hazy description?
Today I suddenly remembered a family vacation to Maine about 10 years ago. We went to Old Orchard Beach. I think this was in the Springtime. We were in search of the fairground area, and we suddenly found ourselves driving into what seemed to be a vigil or ritual. People were silently walking down the street, some with candles. On the front porch of one house, a girl walked back and forth with a candle. Some people may have been wearing white robes. An old man in his 70s yelled at us to get lost.
The obvious answer would be a candlelight vigil or maybe a funeral procession, but it struck us as something different. It was probably a totally banal religious event or something, but it was unnerving at the time. We felt like we were suddenly in the ending of Wicker Man or something.
Does anyone have any idea what this was? Is there some sort of annual event at Old Orchard Beach that would fit my hazy description?
If there are ultra-orthodox Jews in Old Orchard Beach Maine I'll eat my shoe.
Old Orchard Beach has a huge French-Canadian community, and I wish you could recall what the date was. My guess would be that it was some Saint's day ritual, but without knowing about when you were there (and of course I don't expect you to remember this from ten years ago), its hard to say for sure.
posted by anastasiav at 6:20 AM on March 11, 2010
Old Orchard Beach has a huge French-Canadian community, and I wish you could recall what the date was. My guess would be that it was some Saint's day ritual, but without knowing about when you were there (and of course I don't expect you to remember this from ten years ago), its hard to say for sure.
posted by anastasiav at 6:20 AM on March 11, 2010
Could have been a Fête-Dieu (Corpus Christi) procession. Timing is right: 60 days after Easter (late may, early june). In Quebec, it's usually celebrated with public processions where people carry a lit candle (but I don't remember seeing the kind of church ware seen in the Wikipedia article)
posted by bluefrog at 6:46 AM on March 11, 2010
posted by bluefrog at 6:46 AM on March 11, 2010
Old Orchard Beach has a huge French-Canadian community
Does it have a huge year-round community? Granted, it's Maine so there are going to be some people of Franco extraction, but my understanding was that it was just a very popular summer destination for Quebecers on vacation.
posted by Mayor Curley at 6:55 AM on March 11, 2010
Does it have a huge year-round community? Granted, it's Maine so there are going to be some people of Franco extraction, but my understanding was that it was just a very popular summer destination for Quebecers on vacation.
posted by Mayor Curley at 6:55 AM on March 11, 2010
If you can get more precise on the date, there might be something in the newspaper. Nothing I've heard of.
posted by theora55 at 8:50 AM on March 11, 2010
posted by theora55 at 8:50 AM on March 11, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks everyone. I'm guessing it was Mid-March to Mid-April, because I think I was on Spring Break from college.
posted by malhouse at 9:13 AM on March 11, 2010
posted by malhouse at 9:13 AM on March 11, 2010
You say about 10 years ago.
Well, about ten years ago, 1998-1999 in particular, there were a lot of high school student deaths in the Greater Portland area. I know because I was in high school at the time. My high school lost four students that year --- two to chronic illnesses, two in separate car accidents. One of the middle schools did, too.
While I can't recall with certainty, I believe some area schools (I was in the Portland School district) lost students in those years, too. It was sorta ridiculous and it sorta shook everyone up for awhile.
This may have absolutely nothing to do with what you saw, but given the timing, I wouldn't be surprised if it had everything to do with it, either, and if it was in fact a vigil or a memorial of some sort.
posted by zizzle at 9:17 AM on March 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
Well, about ten years ago, 1998-1999 in particular, there were a lot of high school student deaths in the Greater Portland area. I know because I was in high school at the time. My high school lost four students that year --- two to chronic illnesses, two in separate car accidents. One of the middle schools did, too.
While I can't recall with certainty, I believe some area schools (I was in the Portland School district) lost students in those years, too. It was sorta ridiculous and it sorta shook everyone up for awhile.
This may have absolutely nothing to do with what you saw, but given the timing, I wouldn't be surprised if it had everything to do with it, either, and if it was in fact a vigil or a memorial of some sort.
posted by zizzle at 9:17 AM on March 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
Does it have a huge year-round community?
Speaking as an outlander, I'd say yes. That is, when I became a resident of Maine, it felt very strongly French-Canadian-influenced to me in contrast with Southern New England. Even if these weren't vacationing Quebecois, I don't think it is that out of the question that there could be a sizeable enough Franco-American community there to observe a saint's day event. For instance,La Kermesse in Biddeford takes place in June and is aimed at the regional Franco-American population.
posted by Miko at 10:31 AM on March 11, 2010
Speaking as an outlander, I'd say yes. That is, when I became a resident of Maine, it felt very strongly French-Canadian-influenced to me in contrast with Southern New England. Even if these weren't vacationing Quebecois, I don't think it is that out of the question that there could be a sizeable enough Franco-American community there to observe a saint's day event. For instance,
posted by Miko at 10:31 AM on March 11, 2010
Does it have a huge year-round community?
Yep. As recently as two years ago I attended a wedding at a Catholic church in OOB where stuff like the church bulletin was bilingual. My understanding is that its related to the HUGE Franco community in nearby Biddeford, but also there are a significant number of folks who retired to OOB from Quebec.
posted by anastasiav at 11:00 AM on March 11, 2010
Yep. As recently as two years ago I attended a wedding at a Catholic church in OOB where stuff like the church bulletin was bilingual. My understanding is that its related to the HUGE Franco community in nearby Biddeford, but also there are a significant number of folks who retired to OOB from Quebec.
posted by anastasiav at 11:00 AM on March 11, 2010
My understanding is that its related to the HUGE Franco community in nearby Biddeford, but also there are a significant number of folks who retired to OOB from Quebec.
Makes sense.
Maine is pretty strongly French-Canadian year-round, actually.
I grew up in a former mill town in the Midcoast, where in the 80's you could still hear French spoken on the street. But that's pretty rare nowadays in southern or southwestern Maine. Even Lewiston doesn't seem that French anymore except for last names. I'm surprised that OOB has French mass out of season. But it's fun that it does. But a lot of French strongholds like Brunswick and Sanford don't seem strongly influenced by Quebec culture anymore.
posted by Mayor Curley at 1:16 PM on March 11, 2010
Makes sense.
Maine is pretty strongly French-Canadian year-round, actually.
I grew up in a former mill town in the Midcoast, where in the 80's you could still hear French spoken on the street. But that's pretty rare nowadays in southern or southwestern Maine. Even Lewiston doesn't seem that French anymore except for last names. I'm surprised that OOB has French mass out of season. But it's fun that it does. But a lot of French strongholds like Brunswick and Sanford don't seem strongly influenced by Quebec culture anymore.
posted by Mayor Curley at 1:16 PM on March 11, 2010
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posted by Joe in Australia at 1:00 AM on March 11, 2010