This year we celebrate the bicentennial of the French Revolution by examining contemporary folk traditions of France and of French-speaking peoples of North America. The people of Britanny, Normandy, Poitou, Quebec, and the French-speaking communities of New England and Louisiana, North Dakota and Missouri share a common origin and linguistic affinity. Each of these communities has selectively preserved and modified this French cultural heritage in a specific historical and geographical setting despite pressures toward cultural homogenization and political attempts to restrict cultural continuity.