Saint David's Day
Saint David's Day | |
---|---|
1 March | |
Frequency | Annual |
Saint David's Day (Welsh: Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant or Dydd Gŵyl Dewi [ˈdɨːð ˌɡuːɨ̯l ˌdɛu̯.i ˈsant, ˈdiːð ̩ɡʊi̯l ˌdɛu̯.i]), or the Feast of Saint David, is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David's death in 589 AD.
Traditional festivities include wearing
The day is not a public holiday in Wales, which has prompted calls for a St David's Day to be a bank holiday in Wales and some organisations designating unofficial celebrations.
The feast has been regularly celebrated since the
Significance of the day
Saint David (Welsh: Dewi Sant) was born in Caerfai, southwest Wales into an aristocratic family.[1][2] He was reportedly a scion of the royal house of Ceredigion,[3] and founded a Celtic monastic community at Glyn Rhosyn (The Vale of Roses) on the western headland of Pembrokeshire (Welsh: Sir Benfro) at the spot where St Davids Cathedral stands today.[4]
David's fame as a teacher and his asceticism spread among Celtic Christians, and he helped found about 1200 monasteries.[1] His foundation at Glyn Rhosyn became an important Christian shrine,[5] and the most important centre in Wales. The date of Saint David's death is believed to be 1 March 589.[6] His final words to the community of monks were: "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."[7]
For centuries, 1 March has been a national festival. Saint David was recognised as a national patron saint in the 12th century[2] at the peak of Welsh resistance to the Normans.[8] He was canonised by Pope Callixtus II in 1120. The 17th-century diarist Samuel Pepys noted how Welsh celebrations in London for Saint David's Day would spark wider counter-celebrations amongst their English neighbours: life-sized effigies of Welshmen were symbolically lynched,[9] 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 Saint David's Day.[10]
In the poem
Proposals for a public holiday
Unlike
Saint David's Day events
Cardiff
Around Wales each year, Saint David is commemorated in parades, the largest of which is in Cardiff. The parade is a non-military celebration of Welsh heritage and culture.[20]
To mark Saint 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.[21]
On 1 March 2010, the seventh National Saint David's Day Parade occurred in
-
2014 Saint David's Day celebrations, Cardiff, with the flags of Saint David being waved.
-
Mark Drakeford, First Minister of Wales gives his annual Saint David's Day Message to the Nation.
Other locations
Many towns now hold an annual parade through the town centre. Concerts are held in pubs, clubs, and other venues.[1] In the town of Colwyn Bay in north Wales, an annual parade through the town centre is now held with several hundred citizens and schoolchildren participating. Other events are centred on the parade.[24]
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.[25][26][27] For 2018, the city followed St David's Day celebrations with a two-day food festival.[28]
Disneyland Paris also organises yearly events to celebrate Saint David's Day, which includes a Welsh-themed week, fireworks, parades, and Disney characters dressed in traditional Welsh attire.[29]
The Los Angeles St. David's Day Festival – National Day of Wales is the largest annual event of its kind in the United States, encompassing an eisteddfod, Celtic marketplace, classes, and a concert.[31]
Traditions
Children in Wales participate in school concerts or eisteddfodau, with recitation and singing as the main activities. Formerly, schoolchildren were given a half-day holiday. Officially this custom does not continue, although the practice can vary between schools.[1] The younger girls sometimes wear traditional Welsh costumes to school. This costume includes a long woollen skirt, apron, white blouse, woollen shawl, and a Welsh hat.[1]
Also, various Welsh
The flag of Saint David often plays a central role in the celebrations and can be seen flying throughout Wales. Popular dishes traditionally eaten on Saint David's Day include cawl (soup), bara brith tea loaf, Welsh Cakes, Welsh lamb and Welsh rarebit.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "St David's Day 2017: everything you need to know about Wales' patron saint". The Daily Telegraph. 28 February 2017. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- ^ a b "St David (?-589)". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- ^ Jenkins, Simon (2008). Wales: churches, houses, castles. Allen Lane. p. 125.
- ISBN 978-0-708-30626-0.
- ^ "St Davids Cathedral: A Brief History". stdavidscathedral.org. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- ^ Gwyndaf, Robin; Jones, Margaret Dorothy (1989). Welsh Folk Tales / Chwedlau gwerin Cymru. Welsh Folk Museum. p. 47.
- ^ "St David's Day marked with Welsh Google Doodle". The Daily Telegraph. 1 March 2011. Archived from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- )
- ^ "Samuel Pepys' Diary 1667". Pepys.info. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
- ^ Simpson, Jacqueline; Roud, Steve (2000). Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 307–8.
- ISBN 9781851094400.
- ^ Williams, Ifor, ed. (1955), Armes Prydein, University of Wales Press, p. line 129
- ^ Gruffydd ap Llywelyn
- )
- ISBN 978-1-908-75922-1.
- ^ "Flag of St David". BBC Wales History. 31 January 2011. Archived from the original on 4 May 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- ^ Thomas, Guto (1 March 2006). "Poll backs St David's Day holiday". BBC News. Archived from the original on 30 November 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2008.
- WalesOnline. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ "'Not a colony': Welsh council defies London to declare St David's Day holiday". the Guardian. 18 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
- ^ "St David's Day Parade in Cardiff". stdavidsday.org. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- WalesOnline. 1 March 2010. Archivedfrom the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
- WalesOnline. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
- ^ WalesOnline. 2 March 2010. Archivedfrom the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
- ^ youtube.com Video of 2007 Colwyn Bay St. David's Day Parade
- ^ "St David's Week in Swansea". Saintdavidsday.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
- ^ "St David's Day last a whole week in Swansea" (Press release). City and County of Swansea. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2023 – via PRLOG.
- ^ Events List 2009[dead link]
- ^ Rees, Mark (22 February 2018). "There'll be a massive St David's Day party in Swansea". WalesOnline. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- ^ "St. David's Welsh Festival Celebrations Disneyland Paris". Enterthemagic.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
- ^ "First Minister Carwyn Jones off on three-day US visit ahead of St David's Day". 25 February 2015. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
- ^ "The 2013 Los Angeles St David's Festival – National Day of Wales – Welsh Icons News". Welshicons.org.uk. 12 April 2012. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
- ^ "Dydd Dewi Sant". Davidmorgan.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.