Today is St, David’s Day, Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus or Happy St David’s Day.

Do you know any of these facts?

Every year on March 1 is St David’s Day. What is St. David’s Day? Here we explore some historical facts. On this day in 589 AD the patron saint of Wales died. St. David was interned at St. David’s Cathedral, St. David’s in Pembrokeshire. He was a Christian missionary and an Archbishop. St. David was also the founder of 12 monasteries.

Only since the 18th Century this day has been celebrated and now known as St. David’s Day. Unfortunately, today is not a national holiday for the Welsh community unlike other parts of the UK, as Tony Blair vetoed a change in the law, despite almost the entirety of all the Welsh people made their choice for St. David’s Day to be a Bank Holiday.

The flag of Wales or in welsh: Baner Cymru or Y Ddraig Goch, means the red dragon. The Welsh flag has a fierce looking red dragon on a green and white field. The Welsh National flag wasn’t officially recognised until 1959. The red dragon dates way back to Merlin and Camelot and Arthurian legend. It was said that Merlin the wizard had a dream where two dragons had a fierce battle, one red and one white. It was said the white dragon represented King Arthur coming to slain the Saxon hordes, we know who won.

Here are some Welsh facts:

• Leeks were worn by Welsh soldiers to distinguish themselves from the Anglo Saxons in battle.
• A traditional Welsh dish for today may well be Welsh Lamb and rarebit or Cawl. Cawl is a stew made of Leeks and Welsh Lamb and is eaten with laverbread.
• St. David was typically depicted holding a dove and standing on a hillock. St. David’s symbol is the leek.
• In 1642 Howell Powell left Brecon to be the first known Welsh settler in America.
• The Mumbles in Pembrokeshire were named by French sailors. As the sailors neared these two tiny offshore islands they named them Les mamelles, which literally means ‘The Breast’s’, today known as the Mumbles.
• The longest name in the Welsh language has 58 letters. It is also the longest place name in the world. Can you pronounce this? Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch It’s translation is: St Mary’s Church in the Hollow of the White Hazel Near to the Rapid Whirlpool of Llantysilio of the Red Cave. However, the locals call it Llanfairpwll, pronounced as: thlan vire puth. Got your tongue around that one?