5 facts about St David’s Day

St David’s Day is a fantastic time to explore and celebrate Welsh heritage. But what is the history behind St David’s Day? To be prepared and inspire you for the upcoming day you need to know basic facts about the day and unique ones, to give an insightful edge to your classes. To help you, we have gathered five interesting facts that you may not have known about St David’s Day.

What is St Davids Day?

St Davids Day is the feast day of Saint David. He is the patron saint of Wales and he is celebrated on the 1st March. March 1st has been a day of celebration in Wales since the 12th century and a day to honour Wales as a whole.

Fact One

St David was the only British saint to be born in the country

David was a native of Wales and was born on top of a cliff in Pembrokeshire during a fierce storm. He was believed to be the grandson of Ceredig ap Cunedda, King of Ceredigion, his mother was St Non, and his father was Sant, prince of Powys.

Today, the spot where St David was born is marked by the ruins of St Non’s chapel. It is a historic landmark for everyone to see in West Wales with a well nearby that is thought to have healing powers!

Fact Two

He was a vegetarian

From a young age, David didn’t eat meat. This was due to being educated in a monastery and being raised as a monk through school. David and his brother had a diet of bread, vegetables, and herbs with large amounts of water as their only source of liquid to drink. This made David to be known as the water drinker.

David’s diet reflected his responsibilities as he needed to look after the land in his community, as well as the poor.

Fact Three

Leek is an important part of St David’s Day

The leek and daffodil are both important symbols that the Welsh wear for St David’s Day. They are symbols that represent Wales. As the soldiers of king Cadwaladyr were going into battle with the Saxons, St David advised everyone to wear a leek to recognise countrymen in battle. Now, it is common for Welsh military to wear the leek as a reminder of their bravery and loyalty to their country.

A typical way for the Welsh to involve this staple symbol into St David’s Day is by holding competitions. These are either a leek eating competition or the longest leek competition. This is a fun way to celebrate St David’s Day for many whilst using one of the important Welsh symbols.

Fact Four

St David’s flag is a yellow cross on a black field

The colour of the flag represents Saint David and has been this way since David became a saint. It is flown on St David’s Day to show pride in being Welsh. It is such an important way to show pride for being Welsh, that in 2003 and 2008 the colour of the flag was brought into the Cardiff City FC club logo.

Fact Five

He performed many amazing miracles

St David was a powerful man and he managed to create many miracles throughout his life. The most famous miracle David performed was raising the ground. He shaped the ground into a hill whilst preaching to his people so that they could see him more and listen to him properly. He also brought a child back to life and restored a blind man’s sight.

He didn’t just perform a miracle on others, he also survived eating poisoned bread himself. He was warned about the deadly poison and so took it upon himself to split into three pieces. He gave one to a dog and another piece to a bird and they both instantly died. David blessed the third piece before eating it himself which overcame the poison making him survive.

St David was a true Welsh legend, and the meaning of his day is for the Welsh to celebrate their heritage and be proud of who they are.

Explore these interesting facts with your class to celebrate St David’s Day and create fun, creative activities the children can do whilst learning.