The Story of Saint David

Swords clashed as the men of Wales fought for hours to protect their land from the Saxon invaders.  But despite their efforts, the Welsh were slowly losing.  In the heat of the battle it was difficult to tell friend from foe.  The fact that both sides wore similar clothing made the fight all the more confusing.

A monk noticed that this was becoming a grave problem.  As the Welsh lost more and more ground, the monk cried out to them, "Welshmen, you must mark yourselves so that you can better tell who is Saxon and who is Welsh.  The monk plucked a leek plant from the ground and continued, "Here, wear these so you will know that any soldier who does not have a leek is your enemy."

Some of the soldiers thought this was a rather odd idea, but the monk was one of God's men so they went along with it.  Soon every Welsh soldier was wearing a leek on his helmet.  They attacked the invaders and before long, the Welsh had won the battle.

The monk who came up with the idea of wearing a leek was named David.  David died on March 1st.  After he died, the Catholic Church made him a saint.

St.  David (Dewi Sant in Welsh) is the patron saint of Wales, and March 1, his feast day, is celebrated as a patriotic and cultural festival by the Welsh in Wales and around the world.  The leek is the national flower of Wales.  Welsh people all over the world proudly wear the stalk, flower or a bit of leaf from a leek plant on March 1st.

The welsh leek has a flower much like a daffodil (which is quite a bit easier to find around the world in March), so many use daffodils instead.

That's just one of many stories about Saint David -- no one's quite sure if it's true.

There are many other stories about the man.  It is also said that he once rose a youth from death, and milestones during his life were marked by the appearance of springs of water.

Later in life, David was made Archbishop.  The story of that day is that when the decision was being made as to whether David was to be Archbishop, a great crowd gathered.  When David stood up to speak, one of the congregation shouted, 'We won't be able to see or hear him.  At that instant the ground rose till everyone could see and hear David.