Ottawa's Cultural/Behavioural Traits

[lrt's friend]

I am an anglophone born and raised in Ottawa, and kissing as a greeting is something that does not normally happen amongst family and friends. Nevertheless, my cousin did exactly that very recently, the double cheek kiss, which I expect she got from marrying an Italian and living in Italy for a while. It caught me by surprise and I reacted as 'What do I do?' clumsiness.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

I am an anglophone born and raised in Ottawa, and kissing as a greeting is something that does not normally happen amongst family and friends. Nevertheless, my cousin did exactly that very recently, the double cheek kiss, which I expect she got from marrying an Italian and living in Italy for a while. It caught me by surprise and I reacted as 'What do I do?' clumsiness.

Interesting. I am not surprised that you don't do it, but I am sort of surprised that as a person from Ottawa you'd react to something like this with "clumsiness".

Being totally non-judgemental here BTW.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I find all of this very interesting. My wife and I have relatives in various parts of the country but in the capital region most of our relatives live on the Ontario side and as such the way things tend to be done in Ontario is "normalcy" for them, and so they are fond of pointing out the differences they perceive with how we are because we live in Quebec.

From the fashions our kids like to wear to the fact they watch TV and listen to music in French, to the way we and our kids speak (ce n'est pas un "spa", c'est un hot tub!), to how obsessive we are about having to have wine with any meal that's not eaten out of a box, to eating dinner much later than 5 o'clock...

Anyway... not to say there aren't people in Ottawa, both anglophone and francophone, who are like us (I know for a fact there are), but to our families and also some Franco-Ontarian friends this is apparently a big deal.

How we are (allegedly) sooooooo Québécois now.

So when did Quebeckers pick up the habit? I'm assuming it's a post-war thing?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

So when did Quebeckers pick up the habit? I'm assuming it's a post-war thing?

I'll let you in on a little secret. (Though you may have suspected this anyway...)

Many of the French European traits sometimes attributed to Quebeckers are actually "acquired" (in some cases rekindled I suppose) as opposed to passed down intergenerationally from the 1600s and 1700s.

I am not sure about cheek kissing though, so it could very well have been something that's been done here for centuries. For example, I am pretty sure that talking expressively with one's hands is something that never truly went away here.

On the hand, I am pretty sure about stuff like fine wines and cheeses.

Quebec was a land of beer until the 1970s and only the upper upper classes drank wine. Of course wine has grown tremendously since then to the point where you can sometimes see young men in their early 20s with backward baseball caps having wine with their meal in Gatineau restaurants while chatting about the NHL.

Same goes with cheese and fine pastries and such.

Barely less than a generation ago cheese in Quebec was cheddar and the biggest Québécois contribution to cheese culture was probably the curd. Now as most foodies know fine cheese production and consumption have exploded in Quebec.

Same goes for pastries. Once again, and anecdotally... you can see construction guys with muck-coated workboots at my local French-run bakery ordering a fougasse aux olives and other typical viennoiseries that would be typical fare across the pond.

Not exactly a sight you'd see in most parts of this continent.

Is all of this europhile posing? Maybe... or it could simply be a byproduct of the increased contacts between Quebec and France over the last 30 years or so. (After two centuries of little to no contact.)

Plus, having Dim Sum, for example, isn't really "posing", is it?

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Interesting. I am not surprised that you don't do it, but I am sort of surprised that as a person from Ottawa you'd react to something like this with "clumsiness".

Being totally non-judgemental here BTW.

I was prepared for the single hug and kiss but it was the second kiss on the other side that I wasn't expecting.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I'll let you in on a little secret. (Though you may have suspected this anyway...)

Many of the French European traits sometimes attributed to Quebeckers are actually "acquired" (in some cases rekindled I suppose) as opposed to passed down intergenerationally from the 1600s and 1700s.

I am not sure about cheek kissing though, so it could very well have been something that's been done here for centuries. For example, I am pretty sure that talking expressively with one's hands is something that never truly went away here.

On the hand, I am pretty sure about stuff like fine wines and cheeses.

Quebec was a land of beer until the 1970s and only the upper upper classes drank wine. Of course wine has grown tremendously since then to the point where you can sometimes see young men in their early 20s with backward baseball caps having wine with their meal in Gatineau restaurants while chatting about the NHL.

Same goes with cheese and fine pastries and such.

Barely less than a generation ago cheese in Quebec was cheddar and the biggest Québécois contribution to cheese culture was probably the curd. Now as most foodies know fine cheese production and consumption have exploded in Quebec.

Same goes for pastries. Once again, and anecdotally... you can see construction guys with muck-coated workboots at my local French-run bakery ordering a fougasse aux olives and other typical viennoiseries that would be typical fare across the pond.

Not exactly a sight you'd see in most parts of this continent.

Is all of this europhile posing? Maybe... or it could simply be a byproduct of the increased contacts between Quebec and France over the last 30 years or so. (After two centuries of little to no contact.)

Plus, having Dim Sum, for example, isn't really "posing", is it?

Don't forget that my original image of Quebec dates back to my first visits in the late 1960s, informed by my Anglo-Quebecker father (Montreal) and his parents (who left for Ontario in the 1930s). The culture has benefitted from considerable polishing since that time, to the point that I think many forget how far the place has come in a relatively short period of time. Of course, the same is true of English speaking Canada as well, although it's more eclectic and uneven in that regard.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Don't forget that my original image of Quebec dates back to my first visits in the late 1960s, informed by my Anglo-Quebecker father (Montreal) and his parents (who left for Ontario in the 1930s). The culture has benefitted from considerable polishing since that time, to the point that I think many forget how far the place has come in a relatively short period of time. Of course, the same is true of English speaking Canada as well, although it's more eclectic and uneven in that regard.

You are an extremely astute observer!

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I'll let you in on a little secret. (Though you may have suspected this anyway...)

Many of the French European traits sometimes attributed to Quebeckers are actually "acquired" (in some cases rekindled I suppose) as opposed to passed down intergenerationally from the 1600s and 1700s.

I am not sure about cheek kissing though, so it could very well have been something that's been done here for centuries.

I may stand to be corrected, but out in Québec profond, I don't know that I've ever seen the cheek-kissy thingy, or at least, if so, not nearly as frequently as in Montreal, Quebec City, or even Gatineau. It doesn't seem to be nearly as common, or even present, in many smaller towns and rural communities that I've spent time in.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

I may stand to be corrected, but out in Québec profond, I don't know that I've ever seen the cheek-kissy thingy, or at least, if so, not nearly as frequently as in Montreal, Quebec City, or even Gatineau. It doesn't seem to be nearly as common, or even present, in many smaller towns and rural communities that I've spent time in.

My observation has been that it's every bit as common in the ''regions'' as well.

[YOWflier]

Born and raised in Ottawa, European background.

I definitely do the double cheek kiss, mostly with women (regardless of background or relation, as long as they seem open to it).

There are also occasions, albeit rare (say, the wedding of a close friend/relative), where the double cheek kiss with a male is warranted. This is typically with someone more senior (say, grand/father of the bride/groom) and close in relation.

[Capital Shaun]

Born and raised in Ottawa (and area). Grew up in a mixed Franco-Ontarian & Québecois family (with a some Native Canadian in the background). Most of my parents friends were also from similar backgrounds so we always did the double cheek kiss when we'd get together with family and close friends. Woman-woman and man-woman was pretty common. Man-man was mostly between close family members. But hardy handshakes and hugs between men was normal.

My wife who I've know for over a decade is of Scottish-Canadian ancestry dating back to the 1800s. I have never kissed and rarely hugged other members of her family. Only handshakes. I did not notice much hugging & kissing during gatherings between members of that family.