Saint David's Day
Encyclopedia
Saint David's Day is the feast day
of Saint David
, the patron saint
of Wales
, and falls on 1 March each year. The date of 1 March was chosen in remembrance of the death of Saint David. Tradition holds that he died on that day in 589. The date was declared a national day of celebration within Wales in the 18th century.
Cross-party support resulted in the National Assembly for Wales
voting unanimously to make St. David's Day a public holiday in 2000, a stance supported by the Wales TUC
. A poll conducted for Saint David's Day in 2006 found that 87% of people in Wales wanted it to be a bank holiday
, with 65% prepared to sacrifice a different bank holiday to ensure this. A petition in 2007 to make St. David's Day a bank holiday was rejected by office of the then British Prime Minister, Tony Blair
.
stands today. David's fame as a teacher and ascetic spread throughout the Celtic world. His foundation at Glyn Rhosin became an important Christian shrine
, and the most important centre in Wales. The date of Dewi Sant's death is recorded as 1 March, 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'.
For centuries the first of March has been a national festival. St David was recognised as a national patron saint at the height of Welsh resistance to the Normans. St David's day was celebrated by the diaspora
from an early period: the 17th century diarist Samuel Pepys
noted how Welsh celebrations in London for St David's day would spark wider countercelebrations amongst their English neighbours: life-sized effigies of Welshmen were symbolically lynched, and by the 18th century the custom had arisen of confectioners producing 'Taffies' – gingerbread
figures baked in the shape of a Welshman riding a goat - on St David's Day.
In 2003 in the United States, St. David's Day was recognised 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.
To celebrate this day, people wear a symbol of either a leek
, or daffodil. The leek arises from an occasion when a troop of Welsh were able to distinguish each other from a troop of English enemy dressed in similar fashion by wearing leeks. An alternative emblem developed in recent years is the daffodil.
In the poem Armes Prydain
, composed in the early to mid-tenth century AD, the anonymous author prophesises that the Cymry (the Welsh people
) will unite and join an alliance of fellow-Celts to repel the Anglo-Saxons, under the banner of St David: A lluman glân Dewi a ddyrchafant (And they will raise the pure banner of Dewi).
.
To mark St. David's Day, and their return from a six-month tour of Afghanistan, soldiers from the Royal Welsh Regiment
provided The Changing of the Guard
ceremony at Cardiff Castle’s
south gate on 27 and 28 February 2010.
On 1 March 2010, the seventh National St David’s Day Parade took place in Cardiff city centre
. Celebrations included concerts, a parade and a food festival. The food festival ran from 26 February with the third annual Really Welsh Food Festival in Queen Street
, featuring all Welsh produce. Following the parade, a number of Welsh entertainers performed from a bandstand and in the evening Cardiff Central Library
provided free entertainment and food.
St David's Hall
staged its traditional St David’s Day concert in the evening of 1 March with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
, BBC National Chorus of Wales and youth choruses.
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.
Swansea
inaugurated a St David's Week
festival in 2009 with a range of musical, sporting and cultural events held throughout the city to mark the national day.
Children in Wales 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.
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, Cenhinen (leek) and Cenhinen Pedr (daffodil, literally "Peter's leek"). 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.
Cawl
is frequently prepared and consumed on St. David's Day.
Calendar of saints
The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the feast day of said saint...
of Saint David
Saint David
Saint David was a Welsh Bishop during the 6th century; he was later regarded as a saint and as the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and a relatively large amount of information is known about his life. However, his birth date is still uncertain, as suggestions range from 462 to...
, the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, and falls on 1 March each year. The date of 1 March was chosen in remembrance of the death of Saint David. Tradition holds that he died on that day in 589. The date was declared a national day of celebration within Wales in the 18th century.
Cross-party support resulted in the National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
voting unanimously to make St. David's Day a public holiday in 2000, a stance supported by the Wales TUC
Wales TUC
The Wales TUC is the co-ordinating body of trade unions in Wales. With over 50 affiliated unions as of 2006, the Wales TUC represents nearly half a million workers trade unionists....
. A poll conducted for Saint David's Day in 2006 found that 87% of people in Wales wanted it to be a bank holiday
Bank Holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...
, with 65% prepared to sacrifice a different bank holiday to ensure this. A petition in 2007 to make St. David's Day a bank holiday was rejected by office of the then British Prime Minister, Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
.
The significance of St. David's Day
St. David was born towards the end of the fifth century. He was a scion of the royal house of Ceredigion, and 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 CathedralSt David's Cathedral
St David's Cathedral is situated in St David's in the county of Pembrokeshire, on the most westerly point of Wales.-Early history:The monastic community was founded by Saint David, Abbot of Menevia, who died in AD589...
stands today. David's fame as a teacher and ascetic spread throughout the Celtic world. His foundation at Glyn Rhosin became an important Christian shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
, and the most important centre in Wales. The date of Dewi Sant's death is recorded as 1 March, 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'.
For centuries the first of March has been a national festival. St David was recognised as a national patron saint at the height of Welsh resistance to the Normans. St David's day was celebrated by the diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
from an early period: the 17th century diarist Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
noted how Welsh celebrations in London for St David's day would spark wider countercelebrations amongst their English neighbours: life-sized effigies of Welshmen were symbolically lynched, and by the 18th century the custom had arisen of confectioners producing 'Taffies' – gingerbread
Gingerbread
Gingerbread is a term used to describe a variety of sweet food products, which can range from a soft, moist loaf cake to something close to a ginger biscuit. What they have in common are the predominant flavors of ginger and a tendency to use honey or molasses rather than just sugar...
figures baked in the shape of a Welshman riding a goat - on St David's Day.
In 2003 in the United States, St. David's Day was recognised officially as the national day of the Welsh, and on 1 March the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
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.
To celebrate this day, people wear a symbol of either a leek
Leek
The leek, Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum , also sometimes known as Allium porrum, is a vegetable which belongs, along with the onion and garlic, to family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Allioideae...
, or daffodil. The leek arises from an occasion when a troop of Welsh were able to distinguish each other from a troop of English enemy dressed in similar fashion by wearing leeks. An alternative emblem developed in recent years is the daffodil.
In the poem Armes Prydain
Armes Prydein
Armes Prydein is an early 10th-century Welsh prophetic poem from the Book of Taliesin.In a rousing style characteristic of Welsh heroic poetry, it describes a future where all of Brythonic peoples are allied with the Scots, the Irish, and the Vikings of Dublin under Welsh leadership, and together...
, composed in the early to mid-tenth century AD, the anonymous author prophesises that the Cymry (the Welsh people
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
) will unite and join an alliance of fellow-Celts to repel the Anglo-Saxons, under the banner of St David: A lluman glân Dewi a ddyrchafant (And they will raise the pure banner of Dewi).
St. David's Day events
Cardiff
Every year parades are held in Wales to commemorate St. David. The largest of these is held in CardiffCardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
.
To mark St. David's Day, and their return from a six-month tour of Afghanistan, soldiers from the Royal Welsh Regiment
Royal Welsh Regiment
The Royal Welsh Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Territorial Army in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1999 as part of the restructuring of the TA by the amalgamation of the two Welsh TA battalions:*3rd Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers...
provided The Changing of the Guard
Guard Mounting
Guard Mounting, or Changing the Guard , refers to a formal ceremony in which sentries providing ceremonial guard duties at important institutions are relieved by a new batch of sentries...
ceremony at Cardiff Castle’s
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
south gate on 27 and 28 February 2010.
On 1 March 2010, the seventh National St David’s Day Parade took place in Cardiff city centre
Cardiff city centre
Cardiff city centre is the central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bounded by the River Taff to the west, the Civic centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations - Central and Queen Street - to the south and east respectively...
. Celebrations included concerts, a parade and a food festival. The food festival ran from 26 February with the third annual Really Welsh Food Festival in Queen Street
Queen Street
Queen Street is a popular street name in English-speaking countries . Examples include:-Asia:* Queen Street, Hong Kong in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong* Queen Street, Singapore in Singapore...
, featuring all Welsh produce. Following the parade, a number of Welsh entertainers performed from a bandstand and in the evening Cardiff Central Library
Cardiff Central Library
Cardiff Central Library , is the main library in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. Four buildings have been named as such, with the newest building opening on 14 March 2009 and officially being opened a few months later on 18 June 2009 by the Manic Street Preachers...
provided free entertainment and food.
St David's Hall
St David's Hall
St David's Hall is a performing arts and conference venue in the heart of Cardiff city centre, the capital of Wales...
staged its traditional St David’s Day concert in the evening of 1 March with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation in Wales, occupying a dual role as both a broadcasting orchestra and national orchestra.The BBC NOW has its...
, BBC National Chorus of Wales and youth choruses.
Other locations
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. Concerts are held in pubs, clubs, and other venues.In the town of Colwyn Bay
Colwyn Bay
- Demography :Prior to local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 Colwyn Bay was a municipal borough with a population of c.25,000, but in 1974 this designation disappeared leaving five separate parishes, known as communities in Wales, of which the one bearing the name Colwyn Bay encompassed...
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.
Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
inaugurated a St David's Week
St David's Week
St David's Week is an annual festival held in Swansea, Wales to celebrate the Patron Saint of Wales. It is organised by the City and County of Swansea and held at venues across the county....
festival in 2009 with a range of musical, sporting and cultural events held throughout the city to mark the national day.
Traditions
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, Cenhinen (leek) and Cenhinen Pedr (daffodil, literally "Peter's leek"). 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
Welsh hat
The Welsh hat worn by women as part of Welsh national costume is a tall stovepipe-style hat, similar to a top hat, or the Pilgrim hat. It is still worn by women, and particularly schoolgirls, in Wales on St David's Day, but rarely on other occasions....
.
The flag of Saint David
Flag of Saint David
The flag of Saint David is normally a yellow cross on a black field, although it has also appeared as a black cross on a yellow field, or with an engrailed cross...
often plays a central role in the celebrations and can be seen flying throughout Wales.
Cawl
Cawl
Cawl is the Welsh word for soup or broth. The term is used in English to refer to traditional Welsh stews, usually containing meat and vegetables. Its ingredients tend to vary, but lamb and leeks are particularly common, owing to their association with Wales....
is frequently prepared and consumed on St. David's Day.
External links
- St David — patron saint of Wales
- www.stdavidsday.org The official site of the St.David's Day Parade in Cardiff
- www.saintdavidsday.com Saint David's Week in Swansea
- 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
- Chicago's Wrigley Building lit in Welsh colours for St. David's Day 2009
- Full text of Illinois House Resolution HR0149 proclaming St. David's Day and the Welsh contribution to the State of Illinois
- St. David's day on ABC7 Chicago, Illinois