St. David's Day
March 1st is celebrated in Wales as St. David's Day. It is a day for Welsh people to celebrate their culture and identity. St. David was an early crusader for Christianity in Wales and is supposed to have died on March 1st, 589. His remains were buried at what is now the Cathedral of St. David's in Pembrokeshire, west Wales.
He has been the patron saint of Wales since the 12th century, but very little is known about his life. He died in 589 or 601 after founding a monastery in the area of Pembrokeshire which now bears his name, and living an austere life devoted to God.
The aim of this work was to promote the independence of the Welsh church. The Life tells us that St. David founded ten monasteries (including Glastonbury) and that the monks were vegetarian. Their regime included manual labour, study and worship.
The Story of Saint David
Swords clashed as the men of Wales fought on for hours try to protect their land from the Saxon invaders. Despite their great efforts, the Welsh were slowly losing. In the heat of the battle it was difficult to tell friend from foe. The fact that both sides wore similar clothing made the fight all the more confusing.
A monk noticed that this was becoming a grave problem. As the Welsh lost more and more ground, the monk cried out to them, "Welshmen, you must mark yourselves so that you can better tell who is Saxon and who is Welsh. The monk plucked a leek plant from the ground and continued, "Here, wear these so you will know that any soldier who does not have a leek is your enemy."
Some of the soldiers thought this was a rather odd idea, but the monk was one of God's men so they went along with it. Soon every Welsh soldier was wearing a leek on his helmet. They attacked the invaders and before long, the Welsh had won the battle.
The monk who came up with the idea of wearing a leek was named David. David died on March 1st. After he died, the Catholic Church made him a saint.
St. David (Dewi Sant in Welsh) is the patron saint of Wales, and March 1, his feast day, is celebrated as a patriotic and cultural festival by the Welsh in Wales and around the world. The leek is the national flower of Wales. Welsh people all over the world proudly wear the stalk, flower or a bit of leaf from a leek plant on March 1st.
The welsh leek has a flower much like a daffodil (which is quite a bit easier to find around the world in March), so many use daffodils instead.
