Saint David's Day

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Saint David's Day
St David
Official name	Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant
Observed by	Wales
Type	National day in Wales.
Date	1 March
Celebrations	Children take part in eisteddfodau.
Observances	Parades; wearing Welsh emblems, etc.

Saint David's Day (Welsh: Dydd Gŵyl Dewi) is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March each year. The date of March 1st was chosen in remembrance of the death of Saint David on that day in 589, and has been celebrated by followers since then. The date was declared a national day of celebration within Wales in the 18th century.

In 2006 Saint David's Day was officially celebrated on 28 February by Roman Catholics and on 2 March by the Anglican Church in Wales, because March 1, 2006 was Ash Wednesday, which is a day of penitence on which feast days are not celebrated.^[1][2]

A poll conducted for Saint David's Day in 2006 found that 87% of the Welsh wanted it to be a bank holiday, with 65% prepared to sacrifice a different bank holiday to ensure this.^[3] A petition in 2007 to make St. David's Day a bank holiday was rejected by Prime Minister Tony Blair.^[4]

Contents 1 St. David's Day Parades 2 Other events 3 The significance of St. David's Day 4 St. David 5 Traditions 6 References 7 External links

[edit] St. David's Day Parades

Every year parades are held in Wales to commemorate St. David. The largest of these is held in Cardiff.^[5]

In the town of Colwyn Bay in north Wales, an annual parade through the centre of town is now held with several hundred citizens and schoolchildren taking part. Other events are centred around the parade.^[6]

[edit] Other events

In the 1990s it became routine for the House of Windsor's Prince of Wales to spend St. David's Day in Wales attending celebratory events. Some Welsh people dispute his right to the title, insisting that the last legitimate Prince of Wales was Llywelyn II, killed in battle in 1282.

Prince Charles' visits sometimes include an investiture at Cardiff Castle where he awards national honours to Welsh people on behalf of the Queen, and a St. David's Day concert given by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

The Royal Welsh Regiment and the Welsh Guards traditionally celebrate St David's Day with the presentation of leeks to soldiers, often by a member of the Royal Family, and a parade. In 2007 this happened for the Welsh Guards in Bosnia where they were on peacekeeping duties. The Prince of Wales presented the leeks and then they paraded in front of the President of Bosnia. At the same time The Queen presented leeks to the Royal Welsh Regiment in the UK.^[7]

[edit] The significance of St. David's Day

For centuries the first of March has been a national festival. St David was recognized as a national patron saint a very long time ago, at the height of Welsh resistance to the Normans.

In 2003 in the United States, St. David's Day was recognized officially as the national day of the Welsh, and on 1 March the Empire State Building was floodlit in the national colours, red, green and white. It is invariably celebrated by Welsh societies throughout the world with dinners, parties, recitals and concerts. On this day many people wear daffodils, the traditional national flower of Wales.

In the Armes Prydain, an epic written more than a thousand years ago, the poet prophesied that in the future, when all might seem lost, the Cymry (the Welsh people) would unite to follow David as their leader: A lluman glân Dewi a ddyrchafant (And they will raise the pure banner of Dewi).

[edit] St. David

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Saint David. (Discuss)

Dewi Sant – St. David was born towards the end of the fifth century, less than a hundred years after the last Roman legions had marched out of Wales. He was the son of Sant a scion of the royal house of Ceredigion, his mother was Non, daughter of Cynyr of Caio, remembered by numerous churches and holy wells in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. Educated at Henfynyw (Old Menevia) in Ceredigion, where he 'learned the alphabet, the psalms, the lessons for the whole year, the Masses and the Synaxis', he founded a Celtic monastic community at Glyn Rhosin (The Vale of Roses) on the western headland of Sir Benfro, at the spot where St. David's Cathedral stands today. The spot may well have been the site of a very early religious community, for it is also associated with St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, who may have been born in Wales and is said to have spent time at Glyn Rhosyn before embarking again (this time voluntarily) for Ireland from Porth Mawr nearby.

David's fame as a teacher and ascetic spread throughout the Celtic world. He earned the curious nickname Dewi Ddyfrwr – David the Waterman – no doubt reflecting the harsh bread-and-water regime of Celtic monks. Many traditions and legends are associated with him. When he rose to address to a great crowd at a synod at Llanddewi Brefi in Ceredigion, the ground rose under his feet forming a little hill so that all could hear him speak. Again, a golden-beaked dove is said to have landed on his shoulder as a symbol of his holiness.

His foundation at Glyn Rhosin became one of the most important shrines of the Christian world, and the most important centre in Wales. Roads and tracks from all over the nation led to it and in the Middle Ages two pilgrimages to Menevia was equal to one to Rome (Dos i Rufain unwaith ac i Fynyw ddwywaith). Over fifty churches and innumerable holy wells were dedicated to him in Wales alone.

The religious centre of St David's thus became a focus for the religious aspirations of the Welsh nation and as Gerallt Cymro (Giraldus Cambrensis) relates: The Bishopric of St Davids became ... a symbol of the independence of Wales ... and that is why David himself was exalted into a Patron Saint of Wales.

The date of Dewi Sant's death is recorded as March 1st, but the year is uncertain – possibly 588. As his tearful monks prepared for his death St David uttered these words: 'Brothers be ye constant. The yoke which with single mind ye have taken, bear ye to the end; and whatsoever ye have seen with me and heard, keep and fulfil' and as he died 'Lords, brothers and sisters, be cheerful, keep the faith, and do those little things which ye have seen me do and heard me say.'

Dewi Sant was possibly the only patron saint of the four chief nations of the British Isles to have been born in the land which adopted him.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Traditions

Children take part in school concerts or eisteddfodau, with recitation and singing being the main activities. Formerly, a half-day holiday was afforded to school children. Officially this custom does not continue, although the practice can vary on a school-to-school basis.

Public celebrations of St David's Day are becoming more commonplace. In many towns an annual parade through the centre of town is now held (see above). Concerts are held in pubs, clubs, and other venues.

Many Welsh people wear one or both of the national emblems of Wales on their lapel to celebrate St. David: the daffodil (a generic Welsh symbol which is in season during March) or the leek (Saint David's personal symbol) on this day. The association between leeks and daffodils is strengthened by the fact that they have similar names in Welsh, Cenin (leek) and Cenin Bedr (daffodil, literally "Peter's leek").

In south Wales males usually wear leeks while young girls wear daffodils; in the north the daffodil predominates. The younger girls sometimes wear traditional Welsh costumes to school. This costume consists of a long woollen skirt, white blouse, woollen shawl and a Welsh hat.

The flag of Saint David often plays a central role in the celebrations, and can be seen flying throughout Wales.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• St David — patron saint of Wales
• History of St. David's Day & Flag of St David
• www.stdavidsday.org The official site of the St.David's Day Parade in Cardiff
• youtube.com Video of 2007 Colwyn Bay St. Davis's Day Parade
• www.visitwales.co.uk The official guide to places to stay and things to do in Wales.
• BBC News - 1st St David's Day Parade