Happy St Davids Day

St Davids Day is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March each year.

hapus dydd dewi sant Happy St Davids Day

Many people pin a daffodil or leek to their clothes and some, especially children, wear traditional costumes.

1. St David’s Day falls every year on March 1. This was the date patron saint of Wales, St. David d*** in 589.

2. It wasn’t until the 18th century, though, that St David’s Day was declared a national day of celebration in Wales.

3. Saint David is typically depicted holding a dove, and often standing on a hillock. His symbol is the leek.

4. In 2007 Tony Blair rejected calls for St. David’s Day to become a Welsh national holiday, despite a poll saying that 87% of Welsh people wanted a March 1 holiday.

5. A Welsh stew, named Cawl and containing lamb and leeks, is traditionally consumed on St. David’s Day.

6. Across Wales on Mar 1 St. David’s Day parades take place, and in bigger cities food festivals, concerts and street parties also occur.

7. 2009 saw the inaugural St. David’s Week festival in Swansea, a week-long event featuring music, sporting and cultural events.

8. Bizarrely, Disney’s Mickey and Minnie were turned Welsh last year for the Disneyland Paris St David’s Welsh Festival.

9. St David’s Day in Welsh is Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant.

10. Despite the fact that Saint David abstained from drinking and advised others to do the same, a number of Welsh breweries make special St. David’s Day ales.

14 Welsh words and phrases you’ll need for St David’s Day