St. David’s Day 2024: History, Activities, Facts

Celebration of St. David’s Day, which happens on March 1 and honors Welsh patron saint and founder of several religious groups, St. David—the only native-born patron saint of both Great Britain and Ireland—is the most authentically Welsh event.

Famous instructor St. David, who founded St. David’s Cathedral, was known for his devout austerity, determination to abstain from sensuous pleasures in favor of spiritual growth, and capacity to accomplish miraculous acts. St. David’s Day is extensively celebrated in Wales as a tribute to his life and legacy.

St. David’s Day 2024 Date

While St. David’s Day has traditionally been an occasion to honor Wales’ patron saint, it is now a celebration of the country itself. The flag of St. David is hoisted, children sing and recite poems, and parades fill the streets. Some females wear traditional Welsh clothes. It will be observed on 1st March, 2024.

Event name	Day	Date
St. David’s Day 2024	Friday	March 1, 2024

History of St. David’s Day

Rhygyfarch, an 11th-century scholar, wrote most of what we know about St. David. Ceredig ap Cunedda, king of Ceredigion, is said to have given birth to St David in Pembrokeshire approximately 500. It is possible that he founded the abbey at Glastonbury after becoming a well-known preacher in Wales and Brittany. After delivering a powerful sermon at the Synod of Brefi in 550 A.D., his fellow monks elected him primate of the territory of Brefi. The Synod of Caerleon was presided over by David in 569 A.D.

In what is now St. Davids in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, he is claimed to have made a trip to Jerusalem, where he became archbishop and founded a rigorous monastic society. According to legend, he survived off on nothing but leeks and water, earning him the moniker “pious austerity.” Aside from praying, eating, and writing in the evenings (and plowing fields alone without the aid of animals), his monks did all of their work individually. The monks could not even use the words to describe anything as basic as a book since it was considered impure.

On March 1, 589 – St. David’s Day – St. David died. At St. David’s Cathedral, he was laid to rest. In 1275, his grave was granted a new shrine after being ravaged by the Vikings in the 10th and 11th centuries. Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of the guy who was reportedly St. David and carbon-dated them back to the 12th century. Since Pope Callixtus canonized him in the 12th century, St. David’s Day has been observed. During the Middle Ages, his shrine at St. David’s became a popular pilgrimage site.

Best Ways to mark St. David’s Day 2024

• On St. David’s Day, several of Wales’s historic landmarks are available to the public for free, including St. David’s Bishop’s Palace. For example, there’s Caerphilly Castle, famous for its swaying tower, and the historic Bishop’s Palace at St Davids, home to Wales’s patron saint, Dewi Sant. Both of these landmarks can be found near St Davids Cathedral. Every year, there is a national parade.
•  St. David’s Day in Wales is celebrated in a variety of ways, including military parades, concerts, and cuisine festivals. If that’s out of your price range, look for a nearby celebration! Even the capital cities of the United States, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, have celebrations in honor of the Welsh occasion.
• The Welsh national flower, the daffodil, is often worn on St. David’s Day, as is the leek, the saint’s emblem. Traditional Welsh costumes are worn by the public, especially by youngsters, throughout Wales. It is customary for women to wear a long coat and petticoat made of Welsh flannels, as well as an over-the-top frilled bonnet.
• Look up Welsh cakes and Bara Brith on the internet. It doesn’t matter if you can’t find a Welsh restaurant. It’s time to celebrate Welsh cuisine by making some cawl, Welsh rarebit or laverbread, or ‘Glamorgan sausage.’

Facts about St. David’s Day

• After he was born, David established a monastery near where he was born about the year 560.
• Leeks and water are said to have been the sole foods that St. David ate and drank.
• “If you can fake a leek, you can eat a leek,” Fluellen tells Pistol on St. David’s Day.
• In legend, he could restore a blind man’s sight and revive a dead child by slathering the boy’s face with tears.
• The English King Edward I removed the head and arm of St. David from the cathedral after his military expedition in Wales in 1284 and presented the relics in London.

Frequently Asked Questions