There's a Difference People!

Onward an upward my furry friends!

4. Cajun vs. Creole

Once upon a time in the Great White North there lived a lass named, well, me.  Before I ventured down to the south (and by the way, HOLY HEAT BATMAN!) I never ever thought a lick about Cajuns and/ or Creoles.  I may have sung Jason Aldeans' "She's Country" and belted, "She's a Ragin' Cajun! Lunatic from Brunswick" once or five hundred times, but never did I know what a "Ragin' Cajun meant.  ...Until now. Well, kinda.

First of all, it is important to note that Cajuns and Creoles are different.  There aren't many Creoles here in Acadiana and there aren't many Cajuns in New Orleans.  It's like they each took over half the state- kinda sorta.  Here's a map.  The dark red part is where all these Cajuns are.  Thanks Wikipedia!

 "The Cajuns have developed their own dialect, Cajun French, and developed a vibrant culture including folkways, music, and cuisine."- More Wikipedia.  Living around here is very cool to say the least due to the Cajun way of life.  There are TONS of festivals including the most recent 'Festival International de Louisiane' which took place this past weekend.  The festival is HUGE and brings all different 'varieties' of French people to Lafayette.  There's all kinds of music, dancing, food, art and overall a great time.  When Cajuns do their food and music, let me tell you, they do it.  These people don't mess around! 

Creoles, on the other hand, while not drastically different, are different and shouldn't be confused.  "Most modern Creoles have family ties to Louisiana, particularly New Orleans; they are mostly Catholic in religion; through the nineteenth century, most spoke French and were strongly connected to French colonial culture; and they have had a major impact on the state's culture."- What would we do without Wikipedia, really?  I haven't spent much time with Creoles since I am, after all, in the heart of Cajun Country, so I can't offer too much insight.  I can tell you that the two cultures are different-while remaining very similar.

storyvilledistrictnola.com/creoles_nola.html

In the end, I suppose I cannot offer too much in the way of differentiating Cajuns vs. Creoles except to say, that now all my Northern friends will know that there is, in fact a difference and that they exist.  Kind of like armadillos.... only not exactly.