Bretagne Local Custom Tips by Mikebond

Breizh is the name of Bretagne in the Breton language or brezhoneg. Breton is a language belonging to the Celtic group, so it is close to Irish, Welsh and Scottish and has nothing in common with French, apart from the pronunciation.
Breton is still very important unlike the other regional languages, since Breizh has been independent from France much longer than the other regions. You find Breton words in almost every geographical name.
Brezhoneg is spoken in three departements: Finistère (which is the most Breton of all), Côtes d'Armor and Morbihan (this variety, called vannetais is different from the one spoken in the two other departements). Only in Ille-et-Vilaine people speak exclusively French.

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The Breton flag is called Gwen-ha-Du ("White and Black"). It was created in 1925, so it is very recent. The eleven ermines refer to the kings and the dukes who governed independent Breizh. The strips represent the nine ancient bishoprics. The five black strips symbolize the dioceses of gallo (French) language: Dol, Nantes, Rennes, St-Malo and St-Brieuc; the four white strips symbolize the Breton-speaking, or bretonnantes, dioceses of Trégor, Léon, Cornouaille and Vannes.
When you go to Bretagne, you will realize that Gwen-ha-Du is much more than a regional flag: it is the symbol of the Breton identity and reminds that Breizh has nothing to do with France, to which it belongs only from the administrative point of view.
Thanks to Jean-Louis (VT JLBG) who has written me about the meaning of the strips, which I have also found in the sites below.

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Website: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/alain.liscoet/drapeau.htm, http://crehangec.free.fr/bret.htm

Did you know that Bretagne is the homeland of the typical French and European gesture of kissing on the cheeks (se faire la bise)? It was introduced in the countryside of this region and then exported to the rest of France. Bretagne is probably also the region where the number of kisses to be exchanged vary the most and the most often. People exchange from one to four kisses when they meet. One kiss should be the most typical, but there's absolutely no rule. I have visited many villages and observed how many kisses people exchanged. So, in a village the most common number was two but in the closest one it was one or four (you will find more specific information in some of my Breton pages). I haven't been able to understand on what the number depends, if it there ever is a rule. However, in Rennes and Morlaix, I only saw people exchanging one or maximum two kisses.

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Website: http://combiendebises.free.fr

These are the ways Bretons have kept their culture and language alive.
During my visit of Côtes d'Armor and Finistère I've seen many folkloric performances, among which the traditional pardons, religious ceremonies organized around the 15th August in honour of Virgin Mary. If you can, you should attend one of these Breton events; there are plenty of them in every single village.
Visit my Plèstin-les-Grèves page with photos of Breton dances.

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It's from the département Finistère (29) in Breizh. As you can see, this numberplate hasn't got the blue strip with the European flag and the letter "F" for France, but the symbol of Bretagne and the letters BZH for Breizh. This proves another confirmation that Bretagne belongs to France only politically.

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