Welsh Events in Colorado, Articles, and Mythic Themes
Written and compiled by Edie Stone, Boulder, Colorado.
For information about the Colorado Welsh Society, 
visit www.ColoradoWelshSociety.org
The pages here offer background information and cultural or mythic
themes related to the events offered by the CWS.
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Celebrate St. David’s Day on March 7
with the Colorado Welsh
St. David’s Day is the national festival day of Wales, and is
celebrated world-wide, from Cardiff to Patgonia.
Here in Colorado, you can join with the Colorado Welsh Society in
celebrating Welsh music and culture on Sunday, March 7, at 2:30 pm, at
the Kirk of Bonnie Brae Church, 1201 South Steele St., Denver, 80210.
The program will feature sacred and patriotic music and poetry in
English and Welsh. The Colorado Welsh Chorale will perform, and the
audience is invited to join in singing favorite Welsh hymns. Vocal
soloists and the Polished Brass Quartet will also perform.
A potluck dinner follows, with a folk dance performance. The event is
free and open to the public, donations appreciated.
For information, visit www.ColoradoWelshSociety.org,
email sam.kuntz@comcast.net
or 303.886.0632.
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Welshman John Pipe, proudly wearing a
leek on St. David's Day.
Photo ©2010.Edie Stone
Background on St. David’s Day
Saint David is the Patron Saint of Wales, and his day is celebrated as
a national holiday on March 1st. The Colorado Welsh Society plans their
festivities for the first Sunday in March each year.
Why leeks and daffodils?
Leeks were worn by the Cymru or Welsh, the original Britons, to
distinguish their side from the invading Saxons. They were a
nutritious mainstay in the diet of the common people during Lent, and
St. David was reputed to have lived on bread, water, watercress, and
leeks. Traditionally leeks were used for preventing colds and
healing
wounds. If you ever bite into one, you will know that it is very
assertive vegetable!
Daffodils have become a national symbol only in the last two centuries,
with backing from Prime
Minister David Lloyd
George. There are
poetic
associations: the word “daffodil” resembles Dafydd (David, in
Welsh);
leek is cenhinen and daffodil is cenhinen pedr (or “Peter’s
leek”).
And the strong green of both leek and daffodil are a welcome promise of
spring on the first of March, the traditional feast day of St. David.
Who was St. David?
St. David was born in South Wales about 542 AD, died on March 1, 589,
and was canonized in 1120. According to legend, he was the
grandson of
Ceredig, Prince of Cardigan, which would make him an uncle to King
Arthur. He founded a religious community on the west coast of
Wales.
St. David’s Cathedral became one of the most popular pilgrimage sites
in medieval Britain. Built into a hillside, the floor slopes up
14
feet from the entry to the altar, which adds to the “uplifting” quality
visitors experience inside the church.
St. David’s mother was St. Non. A chapel was built in her honor
overlooking the Pembrokeshire Coast at the legendary site of David’s
birth. A lovely well springs up nearby, which was also a
pilgrimage
site. There is also a hint that this area was a sacred site long
before Christianity, as a stone circle once occupied the field where
the ruins of Non’s chapel now stand.
Return to http://www.ediestone.com/welshpages.html
for more Welsh Events and Articles by Edie Stone.
Visit http://www.coloradowelshsociety.org/
for information on the Colorado Welsh Society.