Now that I got vaccinated I wanted to explore “my” new continent after moving from the U.S. to Luxembourg a while back. So I took a trip with a friend to the Northwest of France, the Bretagne.
In the medieval town Quimper there was a tent with a stage. Checking our vaccine passes, the gentlemen at the entrance told us the music will start soon. Two young women started singing in a very strange language. No music, just rhythmic singing. Steadily people of all ages gathered, grabbing their hands and dancing with little stomping side steps to the rhythm, moving in circles. First a dozen, then more and more. In the end, they were hundreds. The young women were singing in the indigenous language Breton.
I was so touched, I had tears in my eyes! These people live in a culture, that has been around for thousands of years. And them coming together showed, that these songs and words still connect them today. For me, it was a symbol of how we are all connected on this planet as human beings. I met the girls afterward, and they told me that most of the songs were indeed very old. But some they had written. What were they about, I asked? “Love and climate change”, one answered.
Originally published on July 28, 2021.
