The Journal has a brief history of the evolution of Christmas in Montreal from the mid‑19th‑century sober Catholic observance celebrated with nothing more than a slightly fancier dinner, to the essentially nonreligious commercial extravaganza of our times.
The Adrien Hébert painting at the top of the story, Magasinage de Noël, has been poorly reproduced. Here’s a better view. And an even better view found by regular reader MarcG.
Radio-Canada tracks down the earliest Christmas tree in Canada. Interestingly, it didn’t come from the British via Prince Albert, but earlier and more directly from the wife of a German baron working here for the British Army.
The item mentions traces of the largely forgotten German presence here, but doesn’t raise the interesting point that François Legault has German ancestry via the Schetagnes.
PatrickC 17:58 on 2025-12-25 Permalink
After looking at the Adrien Hébert painting, I started to wonder what it was like to use horses for sidewalk snow clearance. Must have been tough on the worker, though maybe easier on the pavement and any parked bicycles.
Ian 22:45 on 2025-12-25 Permalink
Horses were never used for sidewalk snow clearance…
PatrickC 00:32 on 2025-12-26 Permalink
@Ian, so the horse pulling a snow scoop in the painting is just the artist’s invention? Or maybe a downtown commercial gimmick?
MarcG 07:36 on 2025-12-26 Permalink
Here’s the full-size image for anyone wanting to zoom in. Kinda looks to me like the horse is shoveling the gutter.
Kate 10:23 on 2025-12-26 Permalink
Thanks, MarcG. It’s a pleasure to see that painting in more detail.
Ian 12:10 on 2025-12-26 Permalink
@MarcG exactly, you can see that the family at the corner has stepped off the curb.
JP 14:07 on 2025-12-27 Permalink
Is this a painting of a specific intersection?
Ian 14:29 on 2025-12-27 Permalink
Sainte Catherine and McGill College looking looking SE from just north of the NW corner, I believe. You coul probably see almost the exact view from the southenmost windows of the Indigo bookstore facing McGill College..
Google Street View
MarcG 15:03 on 2025-12-27 Permalink
Looks to me like a composite since the bank window kinda matches but the entrance with the clock is excluded, and the brick/stone colour on the SE corner is different…
Ian 16:39 on 2025-12-27 Permalink
I’d want to see a photo from the era to compare, becasue even in my memory the old bank building has been at least 5 different businesses with massive interior and exterior renovation and cosmetic work. That intersection as a whole has also been under some kind of street construction on and off with various projects for about 15 years now. A lot has happened downtown since 1938 – 1945, the dates given to that painting.
MarcG 18:16 on 2025-12-27 Permalink
I found this pic from 1936 before commenting, should have included it. http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/archives/seriez/pages/z68.htm
Ian 18:44 on 2025-12-27 Permalink
The link’s not working, but I’ll take your word for it – it could very well have been a pastiche.
Kate 23:07 on 2025-12-27 Permalink
I think Hébert must have taken some liberties. If this is McGill College, I can’t imagine where that foreground streetcar is going to go.
I was thinking Peel Street but that bank window top left is not on that corner.