While the Welsh Festival is an event that has a distinct location on the calendar (June 28-30, to be exact), the truth of the matter is that organizing and planning the event is really a year-round endeavor.  As one of the largest celebrations of Welsh identity in the United States, the Malad Valley’s Welsh Festival has a bit of a national following, and has featured a number of very impressive guests over the years.  Ensuring that events are in place and go off without a hitch, keeping up with promotion and advertising, coordinating with sponsors and interested people from all around the country, and planning contingencies for last minute changes are all time consuming efforts regardless of the time of year.

Nevertheless, the Festival begins to seem “just around the corner” at the observation of St. David’s day on the first day of March.  The day, like St. Patrick’s Day for the Irish, is a mixture of religious feast day as well as national identity celebration.  St. David, the patron saint of Wales, is the focus of the commemoration, which is typically represented through the symbols commonly associated with “Welshness” both inside and outside of Wales.

Saint David (c 500-c 589) was a Welsh bishop during the 6th century.  He was born in Wales, and is one of the best documented of the early church saints, although the exact year of his birth is unknown.  He is believed to be the son of Saint Nonna, and the grandson of Ceredig ap Cunedda, King of Ceredigion.  David was primarily renowned as a preacher and teacher, and is credited with founding numerous churches and monasteries across Wales.  The observance of St David’s day corresponds with the conventionally observed day of his death, at the first of March.  

Throughout his ministry, David was most associated with opposition to Pelagianism (the belief in original sin), and he taught that children were born innocent and that the sins of individuals could not be blamed on others.  His most well-known miracle (one of the requirements for canonization and sainthood), involved a hill growing up underneath him to facilitate a sermon in Llandewi Brefi.  A dove (which became one of his symbols) is said to have alighted on his shoulder during the subsequent sermon.  As a monastic leader, he instructed those who followed him to use no animals in their plowing, to eat only bread with salt and herbs, and to retain no personal possessions.  As a result of his ascetic piousness, St David was often referred to as the “Water Man” for his abstention from alcohol. 

One of the other symbols associated with St David is the Leek, which, along with the Daffodil, has become a national symbol of Wales.  According to legend, St. David ordered Welsh soldiers to identify themselves by wearing a leek on their helmets during a battle in the sixth century against the Saxons. This led to a mytho-historically great victory. It is said that the battle took place in a leek field and was known as the Battle
of Crecy.

David was buried at St. David’s Cathedral in Pembrokeshire, where a shrine was placed in his memory. It was a popular place of pilgrimage throughout the Middle Ages, but during the 10th and 11th centuries, the Cathedral was raided by Vikings who removed the shrine and stripped off the precious metal adornments. In 1275 a new shrine was constructed. A ruined base of that shrine is still in existence today. 

St David is celebrated by the Catholic church, and has become associated over time in the United States with members of the Presbyterian faith, which is an offshoot of the Reformed Protestant tradition derived from the Church of Scotland.  Many early Welsh immigrants were members of the faith, and perpetuated the veneration of St. David in their communities.

Throughout the Malad Valley’s history, St. David’s Day has taken on a number of forms.  Initially, it was celebrated in the conventional fashion that the settlers from Wales were familiar with.  The day was celebrated all around the valley, with traditional songs, food, church services, picnics, and the like.  At some point, the event became identified as “Old Folks Day,” and was primarily celebrated in St. John.  The marquee event of the day was the giving of recognition and awards to the oldest residents, many of whom had first or second generation links to Wales.  

As time wore on, though, the celebration became a more general “founders day” commemoration, and eventually an event to honor older citizens.  The event was brought back in 2005 by the Welsh Society, and returned to its origin as a celebration of Welsh heritage and culture.  Over the last almost twenty years, St. David’s Day events have included speeches and presentations by visitors from Wales, or reports from local residents who have visited the country, as well as dinners, films, games, and activities.  

In addition to the conventional leek and daffodils which are associated with St. David and Welsh culture, another custom often observed on the day was the giving of “lovespoons.”  Lovespoons are skillfully handcrafted objects that are used to demonstrate affection and commitment from a suitor.  The spoons were most frequently carved by men to be given to the object of their romantic pursuits.  In the past, displays of lovespoons have been presented at St. David’s Day events, and there are several local residents rumored to possess such collections.

A St. David’s Day meeting will take place at the library on February 29 for members of the Welsh Society, who will begin the planning push for this year’s Welsh Festival.  As the Welsh say, “Dydd gwyl dewi hapus!” (Happy St. David’s Day!)