Psalm 16:5-11
Proverbs 15:14-21
St David was a sixth century Pembrokeshire monk. His monastery was on the site of the current St David's cathedral. All the stories about him suggest that he was a gentle person spreading the gospel by example as well as word. He was a respected leader. He is celebrated throughout Wales and wherever there is a Welsh person or a person like me who purports to be Welsh, today, 1st March.
On the 1st March we had no lessons. The day was the culmination of weeks of hard work for it was the day of the school Eisteddfod. We gathered together in the school assembly hall, seated by 'house'. The results were read of the competitions in embroidery, knitting, sewing, cookery, poetry, essay writing- I cannot remember them all. On stage were the finals of the poetry reciting - in English and Welsh, singing- duets, solos, ensembles. I think over the years I was awarded prizes in knitting, embroidery, cookery, and reciting a poem in Welsh. It was a traditional Welsh day. Obviously it was a day to remember since I am writing about it 40 years on. The connection and St David and an Eisteddfod might be tenuous but St David excelled and tried his best at everything he did because he was doing it for the glory of God. He was a father to his monks. I think that almost every Welsh person still thinks of St David as a father figure.
Why the daffodils? Wales has two national emblems, the daffodil and the leek. The rebels wore a leek to school on St David's Day the rest of us wore daffodils. I have a vase of daffodils and we shall eat leek and potato soup tonight, a variation of a welsh recipe. I shall post it when I have written it!
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