[A slightly edited version of a Saint David’s Day post from 2005]
Dydd Gwyl Ddewi (St David’s Day), in honor of the “other” Celtic patron saint.
For the life of me, I can’t understand why Patrick is so honored (though mostly in the breech, as it were) and David so seemingly forgotten–at least outside of Wales. Ah, maybe that’s it: the Irish, so unsuccessful in their own land in the past, have huge swarms of folk in this, the most media-stricken land on the globe, and so Patrick just gets much more press.
Saint David, or Dewi Sant, as he is known in the Welsh language, is the patron saint of Wales. 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. –from Saint David and Saint David’s Day
If I can find it (again), I’ll also post a short hymn I wrote considering the likes of Sts David and Patrick, tune name: DEWI SANT. Ahhh, here it is…
So, wear a daffodil or a leek today and celebrate Saint David’s Day with what has become the Welsh motto (taken from his last sermon, according to tradition):
Gwnewch y pethau bychain
or,
“Do the little things.”
“Leeking” all over the place at Conservative Cat and TMH’s Bacon Bits