St David's Day

To teach the story of St David and reflect on its meaning.

by Ronni Lamont

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To teach the story of St David, and reflect on its meaning.

Preparation and materials

• You will need a leek and a daffodil.

Assembly

1. Ask the children if they know which country has a special celebration on 1 March. Show them the leek and the daffodil and explain that traditionally these are symbols of Wales. Explain that St David is the special saint for Wales and that churches and people, especially in Wales, remember him on 1 March.
   
   
2. Give some of the facts and legends concerning David:
   
   He was a monk and a bishop in the sixth century, about 1,400 years ago. He is sometimes called Dewi.
   
   He lived as an ascetic - that means there was no luxury in his life, but lots of prayer and thinking about God.
   
   He was a kind and helpful man, who founded a monastery at Minerva, now St Davids, in Wales, and at least 12 other monasteries.
   
   His rules for living included no alcohol, and no unnecessary speech! He died in 601 and has been the special saint of Wales since the year 1200.
   
   Legends about him include:
   
   He was a small man, and once when he was preaching, the people couldn't see him, so he prayed and the land underneath him rose into a little hill!
   
   Another time he is said to have prayed for water, and a spring came up from beneath the ground.
   
   
3. Explain that David wanted to tell people about God. The daffodil helps us to understand how he did this. Hold up the daffodil. What do the leaves do? They take in the light and turn it into food to help the plant to grow. What does the flower do? It attracts insects to drink the nectar. So we can be like daffodils: we receive love, from our families and God, which helps us to grow. We can shine with love, by smiling at people, by helping them, being kind and good, like a daffodil flower, and that way we spread God's love, like St David did.

Time for reflection

Ask the children to look at the daffodil and think about how we can shine in the world.

Dear God,
Help us to shine with love for all the world.
Amen.

Song/music

'There are hundreds of sparrows' (Come and Praise, 15)