Festive Days & Nights

Festive Days & Nights

It has been said that there are as many Breton saints as there are stones in the ground. One of the great attractions of Brittany, therefore, remains its many festivals, pardons, and folklore events: banners and saintly statues are borne in colorful parades, accompanied by hymns, and the entire event is often capped by a feast. In February, the great Pardon of Terre-Neuve takes place at St-Malo, and in March, Nantes celebrates with a pre-Lenten carnival procession. In mid-May there is a notable pardon of Saint-Yves, patron saint of lawyers, at Tréguier. June is the month of St. John, honored by the ceremonial Feux de Saint-Jean at Locronan and Nantes. July sees Quimper's Celtic Festival de Cornouaille and the famed pardon in Ste-Anne-d'Auray. August has Lorient's Festival Interceltique, Pont Aven's Festival of the Golden Gorse, Brest's bagpipe festival, and a big pardon in Ste-Anne-la-Palud. Another pardon held in Le Folgoët during September is one of the most extraordinary, with flocks of bishops, Bretons in traditional costumes, and devout pilgrims.