Dydd Gw?l Dewi Sant hapus ! THIS IS NOT A TYPO- it’s Welsh!
Today is March 1- Saint David’s Day!
Who? You may ask, unless you happen to be Welsh…
Saint David’s Day is a pretty special occasion in Wales, and seeing as how I lived there for some 13 years, my daughter was born there, and my husband is currently there visiting, I thought it deserved a mention.
For our friends who are not familiar with Wales, it’s the western chunk of the U.K., it has it’s own language (which I did in school for a year- really useful in Canada!), it is very lush and green, which means it has an insanely high precipitation rate, many, many sheep, and produces such talents as: Catherine Zeta Jones, Tom Jones, Anthony Hopkins, and the beautiful Katherine Jenkins:
Voice like an angel (a Welsh angel at that!) Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/6rrdq9e
Okay, a super quick history lesson: David (Dewi in Welsh) the patron saint of Wales, was a religious figure who made a huge impression spreading Christianlty back in the day from his pilgrimages and founding of religious centers before his death in 589.
Today the celebration includes singing festivals, wearing tradition clobber (children often dress up), and a lot of daffodils and leeks (national emblem) are usually involved. I have memories of daffodils being in full bloom everywhere just in time for this special day, and sadly I have to rely on my memory because in Canada right now I’m just grateful the snow patches are receding in my yard. Flower bulbs are shivering well below the surface saying “Are you kidding me?”
I decided to make an effort this year to remind my boys of their heritage, so for the first time I baked Welsh cakes. Yay me! They turned out to be a huge hit- you should give them a whirl:
Here’s the recipe I used from Allrecipes.com: http://tinyurl.com/chyrsqc
So to all my friends and family in Wales- I wish you a very, very Happy Saint David’s Day!
Have a fabulous Friday everyone!
