In the 1880s there began a series of Acadian national conventions. The first in 1881 adopted Assumption Day (Aug.15) as the Acadian national holiday. The convention favored the argument of the priest Marcel-François Richard (fr) that Acadians are a distinct people which should have a national holiday distinct from that of Quebec (Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day). The second convention in 1884 adopted other national symbols including the flag of Acadia designed by Marcel-François Richard, and the anthem Ave maris stella. The third convention in 1890 created the Société nationale L’Assomption to promote the interests of the Acadian people in the Maritimes. Other Acadian national conventions continued until the fifteenth in 1972.