St David, the Patron Saint of Wales
St David’s Day is on 1 March
by Rebecca Parkinson (revised, originally published in 2009)
Suitable for Whole School (Sec)
Aims
To explain the origins of St David’s Day and explore who St David was.
Preparation and materials
- You will need a leek and a daffodil. If these are not available, images of them are available at:
- leeks, available at: https://tinyurl.com/mrw7dzva
- a daffodil, available at: https://tinyurl.com/y8qp8j3e
- You will also need an image of the cap badge of the Welsh Guards regiment and the means to display it during the assembly. An example is available at: https://tinyurl.com/yc79tu5e
- Optional: you may wish to play a recording of a Welsh male voice choir singing ‘Guide me, O thou great redeemer/Jehovah (Bread of heaven)’ at the end of the assembly, in which case you will also need the means to do so. An example is available at: https://youtu.be/ssT9m1X8tyM (2.17 minutes long)
Assembly
- Show the images of the leeks and the daffodil.
Ask the students whether they know what the leek and the daffodil have in common. Explain that they are both national emblems for Wales. - St David is the patron saint of Wales, and 1 March is traditionally known as St David’s Day. But who is St David, and why are the daffodil and the leek associated with him?
- St David was born around 500 AD. According to an eleventh-century biography called The Life of St David, he was conceived through rape and was born on top of a cliff during a violent storm. The same source tells us that he lived to the ripe old age of 147!
David became a well-known preacher and teacher, travelling around Wales telling people about Christianity and establishing monasteries in many places. Occasionally, David performed miracles, the most famous one being when he was speaking to a large crowd. The people at the back complained that they couldn’t see or hear him. According to the story, the ground on which David stood suddenly rose up to form a small hill so that everyone could see him properly. - On his deathbed, St David’s last words to his followers were recorded as, ‘Do the little things that you have heard and seen me do.’ These words are often repeated in Wales on St David’s Day and ‘Do ye the little things in life’ has become a very well-known phrase in Welsh.
- On St David’s Day, many people in Wales – and Welsh people all over the world – wear a leek or a daffodil to celebrate the day.
It is thought that the leek became a Welsh symbol following an occasion when soldiers in the Welsh army were told to place a leek in their helmets to distinguish themselves from the English enemy, who were dressed in a similar way. - Today, the leek is the emblem on the cap badges of soldiers in the Welsh Guards. It is also often seen at international rugby matches.
Show the image of the cap badge of the Welsh Guards regiment. - In the last couple of centuries, the daffodil has become a more common Welsh emblem. This is probably because it is easier to wear and smells rather better! It is interesting to note that the Welsh for leek is cenhinen, and the Welsh for daffodil is cenhinen Pedr, which translates as ‘Peter’s leek’. Some say that over the years, the two became confused until the daffodil was adopted as a second emblem of Wales.
- Different areas of Britain and Ireland are represented by different flowers.
- The national flower of England is the rose.
- The national flower of Scotland is the thistle.
- The national flower of Wales is the daffodil.
- The national flower of Ireland is the shamrock.
Time for reflection
Take a moment to think about the words that St David spoke before he died: ‘Be joyful, keep the faith and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do.’
Sometimes, we can become so caught up in what seem like the big things in life – exams, careers, money and so on – that we forget about doing the little things. Are there little things that we should be doing? Maybe we should be caring for someone, repairing a broken friendship, saying sorry, being kind or encouraging someone. It is often the little things that we do in life that can make the biggest difference.
Prayer
Dear God,
Help us never to forget that other people matter.
Help us to take the time each day to do something little that can make a huge difference to somebody else.
Please help us always to look for opportunities to encourage other people and be kind.
Help us never to be too busy to help others.
Amen.
Song/music
‘Guide me, O thou great Jehovah (Bread of heaven)’ sung by Treorchy Male Voice Choir, available at: https://youtu.be/ssT9m1X8tyM (2.17 minutes long)
