Saint David's Day (and Welsh cakes)

Ttoday is the first of March, which means it is the Feast of Saint David, AKA the patron saint of Wales. I am conscious of its existence since 2000, when fellow actors threw daffodils at the end of a performance at uni, on the first of March, all wearing the iconic Welsh flag on their shoulders, as if it was a cape. Since then, I commemorate their national day. Since Wolfie is fond of Welsh cakes, we eat Welsh cakes together and that's pretty much it. I also mention it on this blog.

Feeling (almost) Welsh

 Today is the first of March, which you are most likely aware of. It is the Feast of Saint David, which you may or may not know about. Saint David is, as you may or may not know, the patron saint of Wales. So this is Wales' national day. It's a special day for me, as I truly discovered Welsh culture during my first year in the UK and I have very fond memories of the first of March. See see this post for more details. So yeah, although I don't think I have an ounce of Welsh blood in my veins, on this day I often feel a tad Welsh, or at least (and most certainly) Celtic.

Saint David's Day

As you may know, today is the first of March, the the Feast of Saint David, patron saint of Wales.Iam not Welsh, do not have Welsh blood, but I have some Welsh friends and try to sort of celebrate Saint David's Day every year. Read in this post from 2011 of my history with Saint David's Day. This year, I will eat Welsh cakes with Wolfie. For some reason, my son loves them. Not sure why he got so fond of them, I should ask him. He does not have Welsh blood, as far as I know, but maybe he has a bit of a Welsh soul.

Of Saint David's Day and Welsh Cakes

Today is the first of March, the the Feast of Saint David, patron saint of Wales. There is not a single Welsh in this household, howeverI do like to celebrate it a bit. You can find the reason why in this post from 2011 and in the meantime find out what my Welsh connections are. Wolfie loves one thing about Wales: since a fairly early age he got very fond of Welsh cakes. So we might eat some today. We made some for a school project one day, but they were really ugly and I cannot find a picture of it, so instead I'm sharing a picture I shared a few months ago of Welsh cakes made perfectly by my mother-in-law. So happy Saint David's Day everyone, Welsh or not, and I hope you enjoy some Welsh cakes today.

The Welsh Connection

Today is the first of March, which means the Feast of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales and thus Wales' natonal holiday. I try to observe it every year, somehow, because I have fond memories of the first Saint David's Day I spent in the UK, see this post for more details. I even got myself the flag of Wales, I loved the day so much (and also for other reasons). I only have a few Welsh friends, but I try to celebrate all the same. It may be ironic, because while our family is a mix of quite a few people and cultures, neither my wife nor I have, as far as we know, have even so much as a drop of Welsh blood. So my Welsh connections are tenuous at best. All the same, we don't need a reason to celebrate, that there is a celebration on this day should be enough.

The Welsh Flag and me

Today is the first of March and it is also the Feast of Saint David, also the patron saint of Wales. It is therefore Wales' National Day. I took this picture while visiting Cardiff Castle. That was back in 2017. I have a bit of history with Wales and the Welsh people, which dates back to my first year at uni and I have detailed in this post. That same year, I asked one of my Welsh friends to buy a Welsh flag for me next time she went home, because I thought it looked really cool with the dragon on it (you don't see it so well on this pic) and its call back to the Arthurian legend. Back then, it was not something I would have done over the internet. Anyway, she bought it and the flag is still in my parents' place somewhere. I wonder if dad takes it out to fly it. I guess the neighbours would think it weird, but among all the flags of the world, I think the Welsh one might be the coolest. And today, I wish I could fly it here, even though I am not Welsh.

Welsk Folk Tales for Saint David's Day

Today is the first of March and, as my long time readers know, it is thus the Feast of Saint David, also the patron saint of Wales. So first: hello to any Welsh reader and happy Saint David's Day! If you want to find a way to celebrate, I suggest that you read some Welsh tales and my recommendation would be, well, the book Welsh Folk Tales. I blogged about it before. I finally read it last year and found it thoroughly enjoyable. It is dense with many stories, some funny, some dark, and all give you a glimpse of Welsh psyche.

Time for Welsh tales

Today is the first of March and, if you know anything about it, you will know as well that this is the Feast of Saint David, also the patron saint of Wales. Thus, we are today the National day of Wales. I like Wales, albeit my last trip to Cardiff disappointed me. Be that as it may, because I have a special history with Wales and Saint David's Day (read about it here), I will celebrate the day somehow, mainly by reading a few stories of Welsh Folk Tales, which I have been enjoying quite a lot so far. If nothing else, I at least got a good book from our family time in Cardiff.

Griff the Dragon

Today is the first of March, which means Saint David's Day, which is also the national day of Wales, as he is their patron saint. I have one very specific memory of the day, which I told here. But to commemorate this year, I have decided to present on this blog another member of my son's plush menagerie. This is Griff the Dragon, who is very Welsh, as we bought him during our stay in Cardiff. Wolfie was quite fond of him when we bought Griff. He cuddles him a bit less nowadays, maybe because Griff is a bit small. But Griff is out of the teddies' bag today and ready to celebrate his homeland's national day with little Wolfie.

The Welsh Dragon

Okay, today is Ash Wednesday and I would normally blog about it, but it also happens that it is the first of March and thus Saint David's Day and this day matters more to me, as he is the patron saint of Wales. To read more about my story with Wales and this day, please read this post and that post. And to commemorate this day, the day of the Welsh Dragon so to speak, I have decided to upload (again) Bashful Dragon from Jellycat, one of mt son's favourite plush toys. Because he is red like the Welsh dragon and I believe Bashful is also from Wales. I plan to visit Wales as a family some day, and more than once.

Saint David's Day and me

First and foremost, for those who do not know, the first of March is of course Saint David's Day, the national day of Wales, because Saint David is their patron saint. Google commemorated it with an absolutely magnificent Doodle, with the Welsh red dragon hanging on the L and daffodils. I had to share it. I owe a lot to Welsh culture, being specialized in medieval Arthurian literature. The most vivid memory I have of Saint David's Day comes from when I was at uni, doing an amateur production of Le malade imaginaire. Many of the cast were Welsh. At the end of the performance, each threw daffodils at the crowd, wearing a Welsh flag. I remember it to this day and at that moment I wished I had been Welsh. I loved their flag so much that I bought one, which is now somewhere at my parents' home. I wish I could have it here today.

Happy Saint David's Day

Well, I did not have today's Google Doodle this to remember that it is Saint David's Day, the national day of Wales. All the same, the Google Doodle to commemorate the day is as usual beautiful, with the blurry red dragon seen through the window of a church, with daffodils around it, so I have decided to upload it here. I have been to Wales a number of times already, but not since a few years and it has been long overdue. Anyway, to all the Welsh people and Wales lovers out there, Happy Saint David's Day.

Saint David's Day

Today is the very first day of March. I wanted to blog about it, about the days coming, then a quick check on Google and on his Doodle reminded me, again this year, that it is St David's Day. Which is of course Wales' national day.
 The Doodle, as usual, is absolutely lovely, with a red dragon having tea with a Welsh woman in traditional clothes. I am glad I found it. It also reminds me, like every year, that I need to visit Wales again. I have not in years.

Saint David's Day

The Google Doodle reminded me today: it is Saint David's Day. Which means it is the Welsh national day. I blogged about it and my Relationship with Wales here and here. I have little more to say here, except that I LOVE the Google Doodle celebrating it this year: the daffodils, the leak and of course the gorgeous Welsh red dragon. So Happy Saint David's Day everyone, and especially my Welsh readers, if there are any.

Saint David's Day

Well, Google reminded me of it today: it is Saint David's Day. Which means the National Day of Wales. I blogged about it last year. I will try to avoid repeating myself this year. March is mainly for me the treacherous month, the time of the Ides of March, and of course Saint Patrick's Day and Ireland. Wales is often far off my mind. Which is sad, as I have a few Welsh friends and acquaintances. I used to when I was at university here. In any case, I love Wales and the Welsh people. As far as I am concerned, they are the founding people of Britain.

I have one strong image from my past which I associate with Saint David's Day. I mentioned it last year. It was after a performance of Le Malade imaginaire, by Molière, on a 1st of March. I had a small role, my very first role on the stage, this is where I got hooked with acting. My fellow Welsh actors, all clad in a Welsh flag, threw daffodils at the audience. This is as much as I celebrated Saint-David's Day in a lifetime. The same year, I bought a Welsh flag through a Welsh friend, who had been in the play. I uploaded an image of the flag here. This is the 1st of March, Saint David's Day. Happy National Day to the Welsh people.

1rst of March, Saint David, Wales

It is the 1st of March today, which means that it is the Day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales. I have a few Welsh friends (mainly acquaintances) and I am a medievalist so I love Wales. I love their flag and the place and their folklore and I wish I could speak the language. Anyway, for me Saint David's Day reminds me of two things: fellow Welsh actors throwing daffodils at in the crowd the end of a representation on the 1st of March and this scene of Henry V by Shakespeare, played wonderfully by Ian Holm and Kenneth Branagh in his magnificent movie adaptation (you can find the dialogue near the end of the video below). I want to see Wales again.