St. David’s Day 2021: Google Doodle celebrates Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant

Google Doodle celebrates St. David’s Day 2021, the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, on March 1st, the date of Saint David’s death in 589 AD. Saint David’s Day (Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant or Dydd Gŵyl Dewi) is also known as Feast of Saint David.

Who was Saint David?

Saint David (known as Dewi Sant in the Welsh language) was a Celtic priest born towards the finish of the fifth century and was Archbishop of Wales.

He spread the word of Christianity across Wales, establishing 11 churches across Wales and Brittany. His impact is appeared by the number of churches dedicated to him in Wales.

St David – or Dewi Sant in Welsh – is thought to have been born on the south-west coast of Wales close to where St Davids is today. He is generally considered to have been born some time somewhere in the range of 462 and 515AD.

His most popular miracle is said to have occurred when he was lecturing in a huge group at the Synod of Brefi. The town of Llanddewi Brefi remains on where the ground on which he stood is reputed to have ascended to form a small hill.

St. David has had a few minor wonders related to him, however, the most renowned story concerns the huge group who had assembled at the Synod of Llanddewi Brefi to observe the decision to make David an Archbishop.

At the point when David got up to talk, somebody complained that because of the crowd, they wouldn’t have the option to hear him talk. By then, the actual ground ascended, setting David above the crowd, so everybody there could see and hear him. Obviously, after that shocking feat, the decision to make David an Archbishop was taken.

A white dove, which became his emblem, was seen settling on his shoulder.

Even though in popular culture, St. David’s Day generally celebrates Wales as opposed to the Saint, it stays on a fundamental level a religious holiday. It is in this way important that if March 1st falls on a Sunday, the Church of Wales notices his feast day on March 2nd.

It is always seen on March 1st, as the tradition is that he died on that day in 589 AD, however, the tradition likewise says that he lived for over 100 years, which would have been a powerfully impressive age to get to in the sixth century.

While not perceived as the national day of Wales until the 18th Century, the feast of St David dates back to 1120 AD, when David was consecrated by Pope Callactus II. St David was perceived by some as the national patron saint during the period of Welsh protection from the Normans.

How is St. David Day celebrated?

There are likewise various nation festivals and dances – all with a dragon-theme – which happen across Wales on St David’s Day.

In 2000, the National Assembly for Wales voted collectively to make St. David’s Day a public holiday and public support in Wales has stayed strong. Despite this, all moves so far to make St. David’s Day a bank holiday has been dismissed by the British Government.

This has brought about the circumstance, within the United Kingdom, where Scotland and Northern Ireland have public holidays for their patron saints, yet England and Wales don’t.

Every year parades are held in Wales to remember St. David. The biggest of these is held in Cardiff.

Pictures of red dragons are used to celebrate because the dragon features on the Welsh national flag and is frequently viewed as a symbol of the country.

Children in Wales partake in school concerts or eisteddfodau, with recitation and singing being the fundamental activities.

The flag of Saint David regularly plays a central role in the celebrations and can be seen flying all through Wales.

Albeit many associate St David with leeks or daffodils, his symbol is really the Dove, which typically rests on his shoulder.

Daffodils, which are in bloom around this season, became the national symbol for Wales in the 19th Century through a combination of trends and linguistic confusion.

On St. David’s day, Welsh individuals may wear either of the national emblems of Wales on their lapel – the daffodil or the leek on this day. The tradition of wearing a leek is said to have emerged when a unit of Welsh soldiers had the option to separate each other from troops of correspondingly attired English enemy soldiers by wearing leeks.

The Daffodil flowers early in the year and makes it a fitting image for St. David as it is full bloom by March 1st.

On March 1st the Empire State Building will be floodlit in the national colors of Wales – red, green and white.

Dissimilar to St Patrick’s Day in Ireland, St David’s Day is not a national holiday, however, there is strong support for it becoming a bank holiday in Wales.

Google Doodle on St. David’s Day 2021

On March 1, 2021, Google celebrates St. David’s Day 2021 with a Google Doodle.

The red dragon has since become an immortal symbol of the Welsh people and St. David’s Day, alongside the daffodil—the yellow flower surrounding it in the Google Doodle artwork.

Albeit the story of Dinas Emrys may seem like only dream, a 1945 excavation of the site discovered remaining parts of a fortification dating back to Vortigern’s time.

So take alert on the off chance that you at any point intend to dare to the ruins of Dinas Emrys… you may awaken a dragon.