The Pleucadeuc twins International meeting of twins…
The Pleucadeuc twins International meeting of twins…
PLEUCADEUC
is a pretty village in Brittany in the West of France. There are 1450 inhabitants
in Pleucadeuc, and 60 twins.
Each year since 1993 on 15 August, a large gathering of the twins of Pleucadeuc
- for the Pleucadeuc Twins Festival - is held. The first year, there were
300. In 1998, there were 1000.
Among the countries represented are the following: Britanny (naturally), France,
Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, United States, Russia.
How this gathering originated : Until 1992 it was customary in Pleucadeuc
to hold an aviation show. But the Habsheim (Alsace) air disaster led to more
difficult conditions being imposed to organise these aviation displays. The
village fields were declared by the Prefect to be unfit for an aerial meeting
and he prohibited the occasion. The mayor and the parish priest could no longer
compete in a parachute jump.
The mayor asked the municipal council to think up something new. Mr Launay,
the assistant mayor, has twin daughters, Cécile and Aurélie.
He proposed to the inhabitants of Pleucadeuc a personal idea he had had in
mind for his daughters in private. The idea was to have an anniversary celebration
for twins. Cécile and Aurélie LAUNAY, the pretty twin girls,
tied for a win in a sporting competition - but they had to insist that they
wanted to be given a medal each. The organisers had wanted to give them one
medal for two ! (see “ How to educate twins ”)
Is each twin a real person ? This is an important question for Pleucadeuc
which beats all records for twins : 60 in the district, more than twice the
number usually found elsewhere.
Amongst the latter, Thérèse and Anne sing traditional songs.
In 1993, they received the award for popular culture in Upper Britanny. At
last Pleucadeuc rediscovered its treasury of twins. The idea was adopted ;
it was a success. And now, there is no stopping it !
In the year 2000, two world rallies for twins will be held : the twins of
Twinsburg in the United States (Ohio), and the twins of Pleucadeuc, in the
Morbihan.
Identical twins –
those that look like two peas in a pod – have the same genetic inheritance.
They are known as “ monozygotes ”, stemming from a single egg which
divided in two during the first days of life.
Non-identical twins are known as “ dyzigotes ”. They each have a
different genetic inheritance. Two different ovocytes were fertilised by two
different spermatozoids. An average of 8% of pairs of dyzigote twins and 3,5%
of pairs of monozygote twins in relation to single embryos.
Heredity is considered a factor in twinning (gémellité, in French
from the Latin “ gemellus ” which is the diminutive form of the
Latin “ geminus, gemini ” meaning twin and more familiar to English
speakers!). This gives a partial explanation for the greater number of twins
in Pleucadeuc. But even in Pleucadeuc it is impossible to foresee this phenomenon
in each pregnancy. The only certainty is of a statistical nature. Chance holds
onto its rights. Is this not a guarantee of the freedom of the person from
programming and manipulation ?
Educating twins
The
story of the twins of Pleucadeuc, Cécile and Aurélie, is an
absolutely true reflection of the difficulties that twin boys and girls have
to face in their family, at school and in society. While they had both come
first in a tied win in a sporting event, those in charge wanted to give them
one single medal to share.
In a family, there is a distinct tendancy to say “ the twins ” instead
of Marie and Francine. The same applies of course to twin boys.
On the one hand there is delight at the fact that they are the same, and it
is true. On the other hand it is difficult to tell them apart, especially
when one has not seen them for a while. And yet, they, boys and girls, are
all, each one of them, children, and each in his or her right, a unique person.
How could this unique child feel sufficiently loved when he or she is most
of the time considered only as a group of two and seldom loved for himself
or herself ; uniquely, as a very precious person ?
Of course, common sense and necessity often require parents , for example,
to call “ the twins ” to table, just as they might say “ children
” when there are several children. But to say “ Hello, twins ”
or “ Good-night twins ” is certainly to express a lack of attention
to the person and this creates emotional deprivation.
A word of advice : it is a good idea for the father and mother to try to spend
“ quality time ” with each of the twins separately during which
the child is alone with Mummy or Daddy. A precious moment for him or her alone.
In this way the twin boy or girl will be able to experience the happiness
of being received, recognised as a unique person, the only one in the world.
This is what he or she really is. And call them by their first names whenever
this is possible.
History
shows that with time, the personalities of twins will affirm themselves and
differ from one another quite noticeably.
Twins generally have a great need to see one another and to be together as
time goes by and life circumstances separate them.
Facilitating these opportunities for meeting is a way of contributing to the
happiness of twins. But happiness is not locked into a mirror, albeit a living
mirror image. Each person, male or female, has to discover and seek out for
himself or herself the secret of happiness. Even if the one can point out
to the other, through his or her testimony, the path to happiness.
Our true resemblance is revealed in Genesis - the book of the Bible which
speaks of adam and Eve - ; we are in fact made in the image of God. And God
; yes, perhaps it is God who is the true twin I am looking for, the one I
want to resemble. He is the person who loves me more than I am capable of
loving. The one who forgives me when I have forgotten him, or when I have
done wrong. He is the one who always calls me by my name to invite me to enter
into the life of eternal happiness.
Information concerning
Pleucadeuc
You can put your name down for the festival of 15 August 2003 by writing to
:
Fête des Jumeaux - Mairie, PLEUCADEUC, 56140 France
Sites to consult :
Pleucadeuc : - in French : http://a.loyer.chez.tiscali.fr/
Twins Information : - in English : http://www.twinspace.com/info.html
all the pictures of this page are from the website: http://webhome.infonie.fr/a.loyer/index.htm