Our Ancestral Feast Day!

"Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd"

The Feast of King St. David of Wales

Today is the "St. Patrick's Day" of the Welsh people, but it didn't occur to me until a couple of years ago that this was our family's name day.  Most Davises I am told are of Welsh descent and are named in honor of the great saint of that country, Dewy San, or St. David.  King of  Ceredigion (one of many distinct kingdoms that emerged in Wales after the Romans left).

Our saint had an unusual start in life.  It is believed he was conceived in violence by a chieftain named Xantus.  His mother, Non, who is venerated as a saint, gave birth to him on a cliff top during a violent storm.  The pains of the birth were said to have been so bad that the imprint of Non's fingers were left in the rock she grasped, and the tale goes that as David was born a bolt of lightning split the rock in two.  Legend has it that the two pieces of the split rock later became part of the foundation for St. David's Cathedral (in the county of Pembrokeshire in the most westerly point of Wales) and  St. Non's Chapel (a few miles from the cathedral).

St. Non's Chapel, Wales     (Photo by Lucy Hollis) Another place I want to see for myself some day!

This legend of St. David teaches the lesson that a child, no matter how he is conceived, is precious in the eyes of God and lit with the same spark of possibility as any soul. There is a tradition that an angel told St. Patrick about the birth of St. David thirty years before his birth, and no doubt St. Patrick's prayers contributed to the holy outcome of a less than perfect beginning, but this new baby born on the edge of a cliff was also blessed to be the son of a saintly mother and later became the pupil of another saint, St.Paulinus.  With these good influences and the strength of his own will, David grew up to be a great man.

Always a  respected and well-loved leader of the Welsh people, David entered the religious life as a young man, became known as a preacher and teacher and founded many churches and monasteries. Eventually becoming a bishop, he presided over two synods, made pilgrimages to Rome and Jerusalem, and while in Jerusalem was raised to an archbishop. The most famous miracle of his biography took place at one of these synods being held in Wales. He was preaching to a large crowd of the faithful when the people at the back complained that they couldn't hear -- and so to facilitate the good effects of St. David's preaching, God permitted a hill to rise up beneath his feet. A village, Llanddewi Brefi, now surrounds this hill. (It's my fondest wish to tour the British Isles some day -- and this is one of the places on my "must see" list!)

King St. David lived to be right around 100 years old, dying around the year 590.  His final words to his people were:

Be joyful, and keep your faith and your creed. Do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about. I will walk the path that our fathers have trod before us.

Do the little things in life.

"Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd"

The same message as our St. Theresa of Lisieux, only 1400 years earlier.

 

For more information about St. David's Day celebrations in Wales, there are many links in this  post.   And the image above can be printed for a lovely coloring page.  The best biography of our saint that I found is at the Monastary of Dewi Sant. The dragon on the flag of Wales also provides a springboard for art projects on this feast day. Here is a link to several cute dragon crafts. Here's a link to a coloring page for making a pendant, and here's just a really good dragon to color.

Daffodils are the traditional symbol of Dewi San Day in Wales. Daffodils, that is, and... leeks. Seeing as most of us would rather pin a flower than an onion to our sweaters on this feast day, though, we found this tutorial for making felt daffodils. It's a wee bit labor intensive, more suited for older kids or Mom to make, perhaps -- but once you've got them, they're a lasting craft. We made ours several years ago, but pull them out for St. David's Day every year. (Daffodils are so cheerful! Don't you love them?)

A traditional meal for today is Potato Leek Soup. Delicious on a frosty March day -- and meat-free for Lent (though you can add bacon or ham if you like for a main meal, of course!)

You can find here a plethora of traditional Welsh dishes to try out, from onion cakes to bara brith. But, standard fare around here over the years on Dewi San morning are Welsh Cakes -- rather a cross between a biscuit and a pancake -- with raisins. If you try nothing else, try these! 

TRADITIONAL WELSH CAKE RECIPE

1/2 lb flour (200 g)
1/2 lb self-rising flour (200 g)
4 oz butter (120 g)
4 oz lard (120 g)
3 oz currants (100 g)
3/4 cup sugar (175 g)
1 tsp mixed spice (5 ml)
1 tsp ground nutmeg (5 ml)
1 large egg
milk

Sieve flour and spices into a mixing bowl. Add butter and lard (Crisco if you don't have the real thing) and mix until the mixture forms crumbs like when making pie crust. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients.

Crack the egg in a separate bowl and add to dry ingredients, mixing well until it forms a ball.  Add a bit of milk if the consistency isn't quite right, but be sure not to make it too soggy.

Roll the dough out on a floured board to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch (1/2 to 1 cm) thick. Cut with a round biscuit cutter.

Heat and grease a heavy cast iron frying pan and when the fat has melted, wipe off with a paper towel. This leaves just enough non-stick for a help; the cakes produce their own "non-stick" with the butter and lard. 

You'll know when the pan is hot enough to start adding your cakes when you can hold your hand just above it for a minute.

Fit some cakes into the frying pan and wait until they're a mottled golden brown color.

Turn the cakes over and repeat on the other side. They are better cooked quite slowly (about 3-5 minutes each cake).

EASY Welsh Cake Recipe

3 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. shortening
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 c. raisins
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk

Mix shortening, sugar and eggs. Stir in dry ingredients and milk. Roll out dough quite thin. Cut with cookie cutter. Fry in frying pan at 350 degrees -- about 3 minutes on each side.

Happy Feast of St. David to all, but especially to those of Welsh descent, to all the Davises out there, and to all the Davids  (That means YOU especially, Uncle Dave!).

A prayer to St. David

(Can be said as a novena)

O great St. David, we hear you call us on towards a life of faith; a life that knows no fear of death. Christ was the centre of all your teaching; God’s holy will the centre of all you did.

Help us now by your great intercession, certain as we are that in your goodness you long ago made provision for all our present and future needs. We ask you now, dear brother, to watch over us, to stretch out your hands in blessing upon us and lead us now to God with our hearts confessing our King, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer who lives forever more.

Grant, we beseech you, Almighty God, that the loving intercession of Saint David, your Confessor and Bishop may protect us and guide us, help us to be joyful and keep the faith. We make our prayer in the Name of Jesus. Through Christ, our sweet and loving Lord, Amen.

* Repost from 2011 -- an annual tradition to re-post!  Happy San Dewey Day, 2019!