Bore da to our Welsh colleagues and friends.

The 1st March is St. David’s Day and is Wales’ national day. It is the day that the patron saint of Wales, Saint David, is celebrated.

St David’s Day is celebrated because of his life and works and is very popular amongst the Welsh. Traditional celebrations for St. David’s Day include concerts with recitations and singing, and the wearing of one or both of the national emblems of Wales on the lapel to celebrate Saint David: the daffodil or the leek which is Saint David’s personal symbol. In Cardiff celebrations also include the St David’s Day Parade which is held around the streets of Cardiff each year. Three facts about St. David: –

• He was a vegetarian. St David and his monks ploughed fields by hand and did not eat meat.
• His words live on. St David’s last words to his followers before his death are thought to have been: “Be joyful, keep the faith and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do.” The phrase gwenwch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd – ‘Do the little things in life’ is still a well-known phrase in Wales.
• He left his mark. It is said that he went on a special religious journey to Jerusalem and brought back a stone with him. The stone now sits on an altar in St David’s Cathedral, which was built on the site of David’s original monastery.