Quebec Fleur-de-lis

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This design is based on the flag of the Canadian province of Quebec, known as the Fleurdelisé. Quebec is home to the largest population of French-speakers in the New World. It's culture is different from the culture of English-speaking Canadians, but also different from the culture of France.

The Fleurdelisé in its modern from developed over a long period of time, though it has been the official flag of Quebec since only 1948. A similar flag, called the Carillon flag, was used unofficially prior to the adoption of the Fleurdelisé. The difference between the two flags was that the fleurs-de-lis were gold instead of white, and they pointed inward instead of being positioned upright, the latter configuration being proper according to the rules of heraldry. The design was adopted from a banner honoring the Virgin Mary. The white fleurs-de-lis represent purity, and blue is the color associated with the Virgin Mary.

The text across the design is from the poem "Le Canada" by Octave Crémazie, the "Father of French Canadian Poetry."

French Fleur-de-lis

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Interestingly enough, the fleur-de-lis is a stylized representation of an iris, despite the fact that the name means "flower of the lily" in French. It is an ancient symbol which has been associated with France and the French monarchy since the fifth century.

Its association with France began with the anointing of King Clovis I as the King of the Franks. According to legend, he adopted the fleur-de-lis as his symbol upon his conversion to Christianity because it represented purity.

In the Middle Ages the symbol occured frequently in religious art. Often it was used as a representation of the Virgin Mary because it symbolized purity and chastity.

The text behind the fleur-de-lis is from the Song of Roland, the oldest major work of French literature.

New Orleans Fleur-de-lis

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From 1755 to 1763, the English evicted the French-speaking Acadians from Maritime Canada. Many of them ended up in the Francophone area around New Orleans. There, the "Acadians" gradually became "Cajuns." The fleur-de-lis has long been associated with French settlers in the New World.

Interestingly enough, the fleur-de-lis is a stylized representation of an iris, despite the fact that the name means "flower of the lily" in French.

Cajun music is unique and immediately recognizable. The words is the design are adapted from a traditional Cajun ballad. It is in Cajun French and sung by a man to a woman whom he loves, even though she refuses to marry him.