St David's ddiwrnod egluredig!

Today we are going to learn about St David's day. And as a lot a lot of my beloved readers have never been to Wales, I am going to try and give you a bit of a 'bluffers guide' to Cymru (Wales).

Wales, is a small country at the end of the M4 motorway. It is main claim to fame is that Al Capone's right hand man, Murray the Hump, was born in there (Carno in Powys to be precise).

The reason Wales is a separate country, with it's own language dates back to the Saxon invasion in 700AD. King Offa ruled most of England, but failed to subjugate the area now known as Wales, and Scotland. His reign was frustrated by attempted invasions of his territory by the Celts, until he constructed a huge earthwork (Offa's Dyke) separating his kingdom from the "weallas" - the foreigners or Welsh. These Welsh retained their old language and cultural identity and existed on the boundaries of Europe for the next 500 years or so. The English king Edward I conquered Wales in the 12th century and Wales became part of England. This explains why Wales is not represented on the Union flag: it was considered part of England when the flag was drawn up.

In spite of the Union, the Welsh maintained their culture and identity, and became a bit of a backwater; prosperity in Wales lagged way behind that of England and small states in Europe. A motion for self-government was proposed and gradually gained support throughout the 20th century. A key turning point was the construction of a reservoir in the Tryweryn Valley which drowned the entire valley. The reservoir was widely contested and was not supported by a single Welsh MP. Plaid Cymru, a political party in favour of devolution received substantial support, raising the issue higher up the political agenda. But it was the Thatcherite years that finally persuaded the Welsh to push for devolution. This was supported by the labour party and in 1997 the Welsh voted in favour of a Welsh parliamentary assembly, which was implemented in 1999.

History lesson over - on to the current day. As I mentioned earlier, Wales is not a big country. It is 140 miles long and 100 miles wide (8,015 sq miles in total). The land is quite mountainous, which explains the breakdown of land use; 81% is used for agriculture, 12% is covered in woodland, and only 8% is categorised as urban. It has a population of 2.8 million, heavily concentrated in the South East. An estimated 20% of people in Wales still speak Welsh: the widest spoken of all Celtic languages. The BBC publishes a website in Welsh, and if you follow the link "Gwrando ar Radio Cymru" you will be able to listen to Radio Cymru (Radio Wales; in Welsh).

The Patron Saint of Wales is St David, and his feast day is the 1st of March. David lived in Wales in the 6th century and became the first Archbishop of Wales. He also did the usual saintly stuff (performing miracles and the like). You can find more information here.

St David's day is celebrated widely throughout Wales, with Welsh people usually displaying Welsh emblems such the leek, daffodil or the red dragon (Y Ddraig Goch). Exactly how the day should be celebrated is subject to some debate. There has been talk of making St David's day a public holiday in Wales for some time now, however this seems unlikely to materialise. Celebrations vary from religious ceremonies and reflection to parties and processions. I will leave you with one final link to Welsh people's views on how St David's day should be spent.