St Davids Day

In case you missed it...try our 2007 three course St David's Day recipe. More Welsh recipes to come. Follow the links at the bottom of this post to find individual course recipe pages.

Saint David's Day March 1st is Saint David's Day, the National Holiday of Wales, a day to celebrate for the Welsh and Americans of Welsh descent. In Wales, people celebrate Saint David's Day by attending church services, wearing leeks and daffodils (national symbols of Wales and St. David), holding parades and children's parties in the schools. Saint David, Dewi Sant in Welsh, lived in the 6th Century and is unique among British saints in that a surprising amount of information was recorded about his life. He was probably the son of Usai, the king of Ceredigion, and the daughter of a lord of what would later be called Pembrokeshire and was the student of another Welsh saint, Paulinus. Dewi Sant was renowned as a teacher who founded monastic settlements and churches in mostly pagan Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. Today, Saint David's Cathedral stands on the site of a monastery he founded in Glyn Rhosyn (Valley of Roses) in Pembrokeshire. The monastic rule of Dewi Sant taught humility, simplicity and asceticism and he practiced these himself: that monks ploughed, planted and tended their crops themselves, without draft animals; that they drank only water and ate only bread with salt and herbs and never meat or beer; that they spent their evenings in prayer, reading and writing; that no member of the monastery had any personal possessions, everything belonged to them all. Dewi Sant's last sermon was recorded as including the words, "Do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about.... Do the little things in life," and this phrase, "Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd," ("Do the little things in life") is a phrase used today. Saint David's Day Menu  Herbed Lamb Chops with Balsamic Glaze w/ Mashed Potatoes with Leeks and Spring Peas Welsh Pot Bread Strawberry-Rhubarb Caerphilly Crumble

St Dwynwen's Day January 25th

January 25th is Dydd Santes Dwynwen, the Day of Saint Dwynwen, the day of the Welsh patron saint of lovers and the broken hearted, the Welsh equivalent of Saint Valentine's Day.
 
There are several versions of Dwynwen's story, the least violent version is that Dwynwen was a 5th century Welsh princess who fell in love with a prince called Maelon Dafodrill, but unfortunately her father had already arranged that she should marry someone else (in other versions she can't marry Maelon because she's going to be a nun). Dwynwen was so upset that she could not marry Maelon that she begged God to make her forget him. After falling asleep, Dwynwen was visited by an angel, who appeared carrying a sweet potion designed to erase all memory of Maelon and turn him into a block of ice. God then gave three wishes to Dwynwen. Her first wish was that Maelon be thawed; her second that God meet the hopes and dreams of true lovers; and third, that she should never marry. All three were fulfilled, and as a mark of her thanks, Dwynwen devoted herself to religious service for the rest of her life.
 
Dwynwen founded a convent on Ynys Llanddwyn, which means "island of Dwynwen's church", off the west coast of North Wales, where a well named after her became a place of pilgrimage after her death in 465AD. Visitors to the well believed that the sacred fish that lived in the well could foretell whether or not their relationship would be happy and whether love and happiness would be theirs. Today, Dwywen's island is part of a British national reserve, with miles of walking trails, sandy beaches and the remains of a 16th century Tudor church stand on what is believed to be the site of the original church on the island. 
 
Saint Dwywen's prayer is "Saint Dwynwen, We beseech thee, Comfort lovers whose vision is unclear. Send mending to those with love lost. Protect our companions. In your name, we seek to do the same. In your name, we choose love first. With the love of you, of Mary, and of Jesus Christ. Amen."
 
People in Wales and people of Welsh descent around the world celebrate Saint Dwynwen's Day by gifting cards, candy and flowers, special dinners, parties and all the same trappings of celebrations for Valentines Day.