Patron Saint of Wales.

Saint David - Welsh is Dewi Sant 

He was a Celtic church saint born quite nearby to the present day town of St David's on the west coast of Pembrokeshire.

He was a Celtic monk, abbot and bishop, who lived in the sixth century. During his life, he was the archbishop of Wales, and he was one of many early saints who helped to spread Christianity among the pagan Celtic tribes of western Britain.

In a sermon shortly before he died he said to the congregation 'Be joyful, and keep your faith and your creed. Do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about. I will walk the path that our fathers have trod before us.' Still today a very well-known phrase in Welsh is 'Do the little things' ('Gwnewch y pethau bychain')

He died in 589 and was supposed to have been over 100 years old. He is buried in St David's cathedral Pembrokeshire.

St David's Day

 St Davids day is celebrated on March 1st and was a religious festival until the 16th century Protestant Reformation. In the 18th Century and still to-day  it became and still is a national festival for the Welsh wherever they are. The modern festival is usually the singing of traditional songs followed by Te Boch which is tea with Teisen Bach and Bara Brith . The red dragon flag is proudly flown (Y Draig Goch) on this day. The red dragon is also worn as a lapel pin or a leek or daffodil in its place to indicate Welsh unity although strong nationalistic tendencies are encouraged to be fairly  restrained

On St David's Day many school children in Wales participate in school concerts of recitals and singing to commemorate the day. It used to be a half-day holiday although this is less likely to-day but depends on the school. Young children sometimes dressed up in Welsh costume and the photograph shows cousin Isobel seen on the right with two of her school friends.

Elsewhere and nationally Welsh people show their patriotism and unification by wearing one of two symbols, either a daffodil buttonhole or a leek on St David's Day.