The stories recounted by lumberjacks from the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada in the 18th century gave life to the character of Paul Bunyan.
National Paul Bunyan Day occurs only once a year on June 28 and is dedicated to one of America’s most well-known folkloric figures. We are adding a touch of nostalgia to our day by dusting off our old books about this mighty lumberjack. Come, join us!
The stories recounted by lumberjacks from the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada in the 18th century gave life to the character of Paul Bunyan. They were all told orally, and there is no original written account in existence. Even the etymology of the name is uncertain, though some believe it is related to the Québécois expression ‘bon yenne!’, which is an expression of surprise or amazement. Decades later, logging bunkhouses maintained the tradition of telling Paul Bunyan tales, embellishing them with ever more details to make this lumberjack larger than life. Along the way, he acquired a companion, a gigantic blue ox named Babe the Blue Ox, who was said to have been a gift from Paul’s fellow woodsmen, Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone.
James MacGillivray, a journalist, first documented the narrative of Paul Bunyan. However, freelance writer and advertising executive William Laughead popularised this character when he devised an advertising campaign for a logging company using Paul Bunyan stories. Soon, this character’s legends and myths spread far and wide across the United States and Canada, and he began to appear in numerous advertising campaigns for products and locations. Even today, numerous localities in the north-central United States claim to be Paul Bunyan’s official hometown. To honour this folktale, statues were erected in various locations, including a 26-foot-tall animated Paul Bunyan at an amusement park in Minnesota and a 49-foot-tall statue of Bunyan and a 35-foot-tall statue of Babe the Blue Ox in Klamath, California.
Paul Bunyan, unlike most other folklore heroes, has an origin narrative. According to the legend, five storks were required to transport this large infant. Windows shook and shattered whenever he clapped his hands and chuckled as he aged. When he was only seven months old, he allegedly cut the wooden legs off his parents’ cot in the middle of the night. Numerous hypotheses about who Paul Bunyan is based on have been formulated and disproved over the years. Some believe that Bunyan was based on Fabian ‘Joe’ Fournier, a French-Canadian logger who moved to Michigan after the American Civil War. Above six feet in height, he was of sturdy build and had enormous hands. During this time period, legends about Fournier and a French-Canadian war hero named Bon Jean merged, leading many to believe that Bunyan’s name derives from ‘Bon Jean’.
Today, stories about Paul Bunyan have been published in more than a thousand volumes, and he is regarded as one of the most well-known and recognisable figures in American folklore.
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One winter, all of the snowflakes that fell from the heavens were blue, which permanently dyed Babe’s coat blue.
The Grand Canyon was created when Paul Bunyan carried his axe behind him as he traversed a region with Babe.
The 10,000 lakes of Minnesota were formed by Paul Bunyan and Babe’s footprints as they wandered around during a snowstorm while disoriented.
Stories assert Paul taught carpenter ants to assist with his work.
Bunyan is said to have created this potentially active stratovolcano in the Pacific Northwest of the United States by arranging stones to extinguish a campfire.
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | June 28 | Wednesday |
| 2024 | June 28 | Friday |
| 2025 | June 28 | Saturday |
| 2026 | June 28 | Sunday |
| 2027 | June 28 | Monday |
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