Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus (Happy St David's
Day). Yes, today is 1st March and up and down the
country people are celebrating our National Day.
The day commemorates our patron saint St David and marks the day
he died in 589AD. He is said to have performed many miracles
including when he caused the ground to rise beneath him when
preaching so that everyone could see and hear him.
The Cathedral of St David's in Pembrokeshire, where his remains
are buried, became a popular place of pilgrimage. It was said
that two pilgrimages to St David's equalled one to Rome.
Today will see concerts, parades and children dressing up in the
national costume. The highlight of the festivities is the
annual St David's Day Parade through Cardiff City
Centre.
Beginning from outside City Hall at 12:30 pm the parade snakes its
way through the capital's streets before ending up outside (quite
fittingly) St David's Hall where there will be traditional musical
entertainment as well as a St David's Day Market.
And if you fancy taking in one of our castles then Cadw, the
organisation responsible for most of our historic sites have
announced that their properties will be opened free of charge
today.
These include the biggest castle in Wales at Caerphilly, one of
the oldest at Chepstow and the best preserved medieval abbey in
Wales, Tintern Abbey.
More details can be found on the Cadw
website
If you're celebrating don't forget to share your photos with us in
our Wonderful Wales Flickr group
