March 1st in Wales .
St.Davids´Day past and present.
St.Andrew, for Scotland, , St. George, for England, St. Patrick for Ireland, and last but not least St David or dewi Sant in Welsh for Wales.
Great Britain is not a large country in its entirety, yet we still have our divisions , most noticable when Rugby or Football ae being played or on the Day of the patron saint of the 4 small countries within a Country.
In terms of having a real festive celebration I think the Irish Have it nailed., but for now let´s look at the 1st one in the calender year. March 1st.
WHO WAS ST. DAVID?.
Young Dewi (David in the Welsh language) was a Celtic monk in the 6th Century. He also became Abbot and Bishop, then Archbishop of Wales.
He was one of the early Christians who tried to preach Christianity to the Pagan Celts of Western Britain i.e. Wales.
There is a city called St.Davids´in the county of Pembrokeshire in West Wales. This is where Dewi grew up, being educated at a monastry. When Old enough to leave, he set about his missionary journeys with a group of friends.
This picture above is of the Cathedral of St. David in the ciy of St. David, Pembrokeshire, as it is today.
I remember taking my children there when they were perhaps a little too young to enjoy the visit as much as I did. A bit of a giveaway was when one of them asked why people were buried on top of their coffins in the Cathedral. However it is a beautiful place to visit and it is where St. David was buried.
The only reason for St.David being made a Saint, that I can find is the story of a young man who was resurrected from the dead by him (?)
Whatever the reason, the 1st day of March is still an important day on the Welsh calender.
Children go to school dressed in National costume, though I believe it is only the little children who do that now, unless you are attending an Eisteddfod. For the uninitiated an Eisteddford is more or less a folk festival with singing, dancing, poetry reading, eating drinking and all the usual other things that go with any festival. You will find, though that poetry and songs will always be in the welsh language. Don´t let that put you off if you have an opportunity to visit one. The further South you go in Wales, the more English is spoken.. By the time you get to the Capital , Cardiff, or most of the southern towns, it is more difficult to find someone who speaks WELSH:
The National St. Davids´Day Parade., will go through Cardiff on March 1st.
Soldiers from the Royal welsh Regiment, recently returned from Afghanistan , perform a Changing of the Guard Ceremony at Cardiff castle.
Similar parades go on in other Welsh cities. I´m sure a Merry time will be had by one and all who celebrate St. Davids´Day.
