St. David’s Day (March 1st) is the national day of the Welsh, who have been struggling for years to get Westminster to make it a public holiday in the Principality.
St. David was a monk of the Celtic Church in Wales who flourished, if that is quite the word for an austere existence, in the sixth century a generation or two after that lesser Briton, Patrick. He is supposed to have indulged in shocking activities such as drinking only water and standing in neck deep cold water as part of penances – not to say raising a youth from the dead.
Welsh saints were two a penny and the claim David was canonized in the twelfth century is a bit dubious. It is possible that the Vatican, so keen on bursting Heaven’s walls with a multitude of new saints does not recognize an old and eminently worthy one.
Perhaps St. David is best known for his advice that the Welsh take a leek before battling the English. By wearing the leek they would know friend from enemy when biffing anyone at range. Thus the leek became a national symbol and a highly practical one – it could be eaten. Alas in more modern times the practical if unglamorous vegetable has been replaced by the decorative daffodil.