St. David's Day – March 1, 2025

History of St. David's Day

St David’s Day has been celebrated since the year 1120 and is a huge celebration for the Welsh. Who is St David? St David was the greatest figure in the 6th century Welsh Age of Saints, founder of scores of religious communities, and the only native-born patron saint of the countries of Britain and Ireland.

Most of what we know about St David was written by the 11th-century scholar Rhygyfarch. He tells us that St David was born in Pembrokeshire around the year 500, the grandson of Ceredig ap Cunedda, king of Ceredigion. He became a renowned preacher, founding monastic settlements and churches in Wales, Brittany, and England – including, possibly, the abbey at Glastonbury. In 550 A.D., fellow monks elected him primate of the region of Brefi, after he gave a compelling speech at the Synod of Brefi. In 569 A.D., David presided over the Synod of Caerleon.

He’s said to have made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem where he became an archbishop and established a strict religious community in what is now St Davids in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. He was famed for his pious austerity, as he is believed to have lived on only leeks and water. His monks only prayed, ate, and wrote in the evenings, and plowed fields themselves without the help of animals. He eschewed personal possessions — the monks could not even say ‘my’ when referring to something as simple as a book.

Many people claimed that St David was able to perform miracles. One of the more famous miracles associated with him is that once while preaching at Llandewi Brefi, he caused the ground to rise beneath his feet so that everyone could hear his sermon. During the incident, a white dove is said to have landed on his shoulder, as he is so often depicted now. Other miracles are believed to be St David resurrecting a dead child and restoring sight to a blind man. 

St David died on 1 March – St David’s Day – in 589. He was buried at St. David’s Cathedral. After the Vikings raided his tomb in the 10th and 11th centuries, it was given a new shrine in 1275. The bones of the person who was supposedly St. David were discovered in the Holy Trinity Chapel of Saint David’s Cathedral and carbon-dated back to the 12th century. He was canonized by Pope Callixtus in the 12th century, and St David’s Day has been celebrated ever since. His shrine at St. David’s became a notable place of pilgrimage, especially during the Middle Ages.

There have been over 50 churches dedicated to him in pre-Reformation days. He was also canonized by the Eastern Orthodox church. St. David’s day has long been a celebration of the saint of Wales. Traditional festivities include wearing daffodils and leeks, recognized symbols of Wales and Saint David respectively, eating traditional Welsh food including cawl and Welsh rarebit, and women wearing traditional Welsh dress. An increasing number of cities and towns across Wales including Cardiff, Swansea, and Aberystwyth also put on parades throughout the day.