Saint David of Wales

David (Dewi in Welsh) lived in the 6th century in south-west Wales. According to his medieval Life, written by Rhygyfarch around 1090, he was the son of a chieftain and of Saint Non, was educated in monasteries and founded a community at Mynyw, today the city of St Davids in Pembrokeshire. His monks lived very austerely: they worked the land by hand, kept long hours of prayer and drank only water, which earned David the nickname "the Waterman".

He preached across Wales and, according to tradition, spoke so powerfully at the Synod of Brefi that the ground rose beneath him so all could hear. He became the leading bishop of his people and died on March 1, around 589. His last sermon, as tradition recalls it, urged his monks to keep the faith and to do the little things well. Around 1120 Pope Callixtus II approved devotion to him, and St Davids became a great place of pilgrimage.

On Saint David's Day the Welsh wear daffodils or leeks, children dress in traditional costume and sing at school concerts, and families eat cawl, a hearty lamb and leek stew. Parades are held in Cardiff and in Welsh communities around the world, including Patagonia in Argentina.