Happy St David's Day!

I make no apologies for being unashamedly patriotic today

MARCH THE FIRST IS ST DAVID'S DAY!

I have put my Welsh flag up in the garden and am wearing my daffodil. The daffodils in the garden arrived several weeks ago - very early, I'm usually willing one or two at least to open by St David's Day, but I guess it's all down to gobal warming!

(The leek is also a traditional Welsh symbol worn on this day, because St David is said to have ordered his Welsh soldiers to wear leeks in their helmets when they went into battle against the Saxons,but the daffodil is prettier and doesn't smell so strongly!😄 )

ST DAVID'S DAY TRADITIONS
Many people outside Wales don't realise that St David's Day is as important to the Welsh as St Patrick's Day is to the Irish. Each year, the annual St David’s Day parade takes place on 1st March,  in Cardiff. A colourful parade takes place in the city centre. There will be parades across the whole of Wales including in Aberystwyth in Cardiganshire (my hometown), and in  Caernarfon,  Llandudno and Wrexham, plus a variety of St David's Day Celebrations in Bargoed, Blackwood, Caerphilly And Risca Town Centre.

The day is also commemorated with children taking part in concerts called 'Eisteddfods'  in schools or village halls, although today being Sunday, they will probably have them tomorrow instead, if they didn't have them on Friday.)

FOOD

Cawl

A variety of traditional Welsh food is eaten, in particular, cawl, a clear soup,made of course,with leeks as a prime ingredient, eaten with bread and cheese. Its meat content varies with the region. Where I come from, which is mountainous sheep country, it  is always  lamb or mutton, but it can also be fish, bacon or sometimes beef. The broth or soup also includes potatoes, carrots, and other seasonal vegetables.

Welsh cakes

Traditional Welsh costume

Then there are Welsh cakes, a kind of scone,  rolled out as a dough with currents, and baked on a griddle or 'bakestone'and  absolutely delicious served hot with butter, and just as good cold, sprinkled with a little sugar,. Alsos bara brith, a malty fruit cake made with tea, cut like bread and spread with butter,  and Welsh rarebit, toast covered with rich cheese sauce made with beer and seasoned with Worcester sauce, then poured onto the toast and grilled until bubbling.

ST DAVID
So who was St David. and why March the 1st?
Well he died on that day in 589AD.

Dewi (the Welsh form of David) was born to Welsh nobility in the late fifth or possibly early sixth century.  The Anglo-Saxons had invaded Britain by that point and had driven most of the inhabitants into what was known as the Celtic Fringe: Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany.

He was educated in Cardiganshire and then went on pilgrimages, founding religious centres across Wales and England, including one at Glastonbury. He even travelled as far as Jerusalem, where he was made an archbishop.

He eventually settled at Glyn Rhosyn (now St Davids), in south west Wales, where he established a religious community. Many miracles have been attributed to him.including causing the ground to rise beneath him when preaching so that everyone could see and hear him.

When David died he told his devoted followers to: "Be cheerful and keep your faith and belief, and do the little things that you have heard and seen through me."

His remains were buried at the Cathedral of St Davids in Pembrokeshire. It became a popular place of pilgrimage and  two pigramages to St Davids were said to equal one to Rome and three equalled one to Jerusalem.

THE RED DRAGON

To end with I thought I'd tell you why the red dragon (Ddraig Goch) appears on the flag of Wales.  You might be surprised to learn that it relates to the Arthurian legends.

King Vortigern came to the mountains of Eryri, in Gwynedd. On the summit of one of these, which was then called Dinas Ffaraon, he decided to build a fortress.

Then the king sent for artificers, carpenters, and stonemasons, and collected all the materials for building. In the night, however,they all disappeared. Materials were procured from all parts a second time, but a second time they disappeared in the night. A third time everything was brought together for building, but by morning again not a trace of them remained.

Vortigern called his wise men together and they told him he must find a child born without a father, put him to death, and sprinkle with his blood the ground on which the citadel was to be built.

The king thought the advice of his wise men was good and sent messengers throughout Britain in search of a child born without a father.When they eventually found one, they took him to Vortigern the king.

The boy asked why he had been brought before the king and when they told him he was to be sacrificed to enable Vortigern to build a fortress, he told the king his wise men were wrong and that there was a pool beneath the ground where they were trying to build. In the pool were two vases and in the vases a tent.  in the tent were two sleeping dragons, one white and one red.

The dragons fought each other, and the eventually the red one one the battle and drove the white one away.

The boy told the king and his wise men that the pool was the emblem of this world, and the tent that of Vortigern's kingdom. The red dragon was the king's, but the white serpent was the dragon of the Saxons,  At length, however, his people would rise and drive the Saxon race beyond the sea. But he must seek another place to build his citadel.

The boy's life was spared. He became famous as the great magician Myrddin Emrys , or Myrddin ab Morfryn (Merlin, as he is called in English), and the mountain on which he proved his mighty power was called  Dinas Emrys instead of Dinas Ffaraon.  Thereafter the red dragon became the symbol of Wales and is portrayed on the Welsh flag. (Myrddin is the hero of one of my books a short novella, 'Dancing With Fate.')

 Finally, I thought you might like the recipe for Welshcakes. Traditionally cooked on the hob, on a 'bakestone' they can also be cooked in a heavy frying pan.

 Ingredients
•    225g/8oz self-raising flour
•    110g/4oz salted butter, cut up small
•    85g/3oz caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
•    handful of currents or sultanas
•    1 egg, beaten
•    milk, if needed
•    extra butter, for greasing

Method
1.    Sift the flour into a bowl and add the butter.
2.    Rub with your fingertips, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3.    Add the sugar, fruit and beaten egg and mix well to form a ball of dough, using a splash of milk if needed.
4.    Roll the dough out on a floured board to a thickness of about 5mm/½in.
5.    Cut into rounds with a 7.5–10cm/3-4in plain cutter.
6.    Rub the bakestone or heavy iron griddle or frying pan with butter, wipe away the excess and place on the hob until it is heated through.
7.    Cook the Welsh cakes a few at a time for 2–3 minutes on each side, or until golden-brown.
8.    Remove from the griddle and dust with caster sugar while still warm. Delicious eaten hot but can also be eaten cold, spread with a little butter


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HAPPY ST DAVID'S DAY

My Monday musings are turning into Tuesday ramblings!  My excuse this week is I had a guest post yesterday for a really helpful book if you're planning a virtual book tour.  I downloaded 'Secrets of Successful Virtual Book Tours'  by Roxanne Rhoads and it has some very useful tips.


Back to ST DAVID'S DAY.  I have hung out my Welsh Flag  as I always do on the 1st March, and it will only come down in October, on the day after my birthday. St David's Day always makes me feel even more homesick than usual, I love the way this Saint's Day is celebrated in Wales, most people wear a leek or a daffodil, many schoolchildren wear traditional Welsh costume  and there are concerts, called Eisteddfods, held in most of the schools, with traditional lunches of cawl, which is a kind of mutton or lamb soup with vegetables, served with cheese and bread, as well as other traditional Welsh delicacies, like bara brith, a fruit loaf,  and Welsh cakes, baked on a griddle on top of the hob.

Who was St David, the Patron Saint of Wales?

He was reputedly born on a cliff top near Capel Non (Non's chapel) on the South-West Wales coast
during a fierce storm. Both his parents were descended from Welsh royalty. He was the son of Sandde, Prince of Powys, and Non, daughter of a chieftain of Menevia (now the little cathedral town of St David's). The site of Davids birth is marked by the ruins of a tiny ancient chapel close to a holy well and the more recent 18th century chapel dedicated to his mother Non can still be seen near St. 550.

David's Cathedral. Legend also says that St David was the nephew of King Arthur. He grew up to be a priest, educated at the monastery of Hen Fynyw under the tutorage of St. Paulinus. According to legend David performed several miracles during his life and it is said that during a battle against the Saxons, David advised his soldiers to wear leeks in their hats so that they could easily be distinguished from their enemies, which is why the leek is one of the emblems of Wales! Becoming a missionary David travelled throughout Wales and Britain and even made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem where he was consecrated bishop. He founded 12 monasteries including Glastonbury and one at St. Davids, which he made his bishops seat. He was named Archbishop of Wales at the Synod of Brevi (Llandewi Brefi), Cardiganshire in

St David died on 1 March 589A.D., at Minevia, allegedly over 100 years old. His remains were buried in a shrine in the 6th century cathedral.

So today, I'll be wearing my daffodil and thinking of my homeland, my heart is there even if I can't be there physically.  Happy St David's Day everyone and thanks to Tim Peake, way up there in the Space Station, for your lovely message to the Welsh people today. I can only imagine how beautiful Snowdonia must look like from space!

Acknowledgement: Thanks to Ben Johnson, Historic UK for some of the above information