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Post by Rob Allen on Feb 29, 2016 22:30:48 GMT -5
March 1 is St. David's Day, and St. David is the patron saint of Wales and Welsh people everywhere. My grandmother was born & raised in north Wales. She's my only "exotic" grandparent - the rest were from families that were here in colonial times. For those in the USA, here's a guide to the day in this country: americymru.net/st-davids-day
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Post by hondobrode on Feb 29, 2016 23:09:44 GMT -5
I've never heard of this before, Rob.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Mar 1, 2016 8:12:38 GMT -5
It's observed here in England, insofar as people are aware of it, but it's not a holiday or anything. Unsurprisingly, it's more of a big deal in Wales, but only just.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 1, 2016 13:07:59 GMT -5
It's observed here in England, insofar as people are aware of it, but it's not a holiday or anything. Unsurprisingly, it's more of a big deal in Wales, but only just. As long as they celebrate it in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwll-llantysiliogogogoch, then all is good.
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Confessor
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Not Bucky O'Hare!
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Post by Confessor on Mar 1, 2016 13:13:38 GMT -5
It's observed here in England, insofar as people are aware of it, but it's not a holiday or anything. Unsurprisingly, it's more of a big deal in Wales, but only just. As long as they celebrate it in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwll-llantysiliogogogoch, then all is good. Gazuntite!
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Post by Prince Hal on Mar 1, 2016 14:42:58 GMT -5
IN Shakespeare's Henry V, just after the end of the Battle of Agincourt, there's this little exchange between the king and his loyal Wesh captain, Fluellen that tells of the traditon of St. Davy's Day and of Welshmen wearing leeks in their hatbands, a la Irish shamrocks, because they defeated the French in a field of leeks at Crecy in 1346.
Fluellen often pronounces his "b"s as "p"s and vice versa. Because of the differences between Welsh and English pronunciations, Welshmen often were called "Taffys" because of the way they pronounced "Davy's."
FLUELLEN "Your grandfather of famous memory, an't please your majesty, and your great-uncle Edward the Plack Prince of Wales, as I have read in the chronicles, fought a most prave pattle here in France."
KING HENRY V ""They did, Fluellen.
FLUELLEN "Your majesty says very true: if your majesties is remembered of it, the Welshmen did good service in a garden where leeks did grow, wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps; which, your majesty know, to thishour is an honourable badge of the service; and I do believe your majesty takes no scorn to wear the leek upon Saint Tavy's day."
KING HENRY V "I wear it for a memorable honour; For I am Welsh, you know, good countryman."
FLUELLEN "All the water in Wye cannot wash your majesty's Welsh plood out of your pody, I can tell you that: God pless it and preserve it, as long as it pleases his grace, and his majesty too!"
The scene is here if you hang in after the ad and go to 2:53.
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Post by Rob Allen on Mar 1, 2016 18:03:55 GMT -5
Thanks for that, Prince Hal! It's too late to get a leek for my hat today; maybe next year.
Also, an interesting note from Wikipedia:
The name 'Fluellen' is the anglicised version of the Welsh language surname Llywellyn.[1] The English, finding it difficult to render the Welsh sound [ɬ]), employ the sequence fl, as they did with Floyd for Lloyd.
I'm familiar with the Welsh 'll' sound since my grandmother was born in Llandrillo.
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Post by coke & comics on Mar 2, 2016 14:46:47 GMT -5
My favorite thing about Wales is the addresses.
I have one friend who lives there to whom I have mailed things. And the address is a series of words, none I can pronounce. I think the system is something like name of house, name of neighborhood, name of town. I just expect to see more numbers.
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Post by Prince Hal on Mar 2, 2016 14:51:27 GMT -5
It's observed here in England, insofar as people are aware of it, but it's not a holiday or anything. Unsurprisingly, it's more of a big deal in Wales, but only just. As long as they celebrate it in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwll-llantysiliogogogoch, then all is good. I remember they always used this in kid's geography books as the example of the longest place name in the world. Yikes! Helluva Scrabble hand, though.
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Post by Rob Allen on Mar 1, 2017 12:16:21 GMT -5
Happy St. David's Day 2017 to all the Welsh, those with Welsh ancestry, and admirers of Wales. This holiday is celebrated around the world, and beyond!
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Mar 1, 2017 12:23:17 GMT -5
Happy St. David's Day 2017 to all the Welsh, those with Welsh ancestry, and admirers of Wales. This holiday is celebrated around the world, and beyond! Thank you. I just sent this message to my son Nathan who spent a semester abroad in Wales.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 1, 2017 16:47:08 GMT -5
I knew nothing about this day at all, so thanks for sharing.
I have a little Welsh in me (not sure exactly how much, as it's from the side that cares nothing about history or geneology), so I guess I should have a drink tonight in celebration or something.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2017 17:19:58 GMT -5
I heard of this Day because in my family we are 1/4 Wales from my Mother Side of the Family and because of her death in 2012 we stopped celebrating this Day because it's really has no significant to us from a generation standpoint. However, in my Mother it is because it's holds dear to her because of her experiences as a child to remember St. David Day. The problem is that she never, ever shared that experience to us and it's sad because she had Alzheimer's and never ever shared anything to us and the same goes to our Dad who had the dreaded disease and we tried to contact our cousins and they could help us at all.
It's means something to our Parent's Generations but not to us. My Mother always goes to the florist the day before this day to get fresh daffodils for our dinner table to remember this day. It is an annual tradition in our family to do this having daffodils on our dinner table and no one outside of my Parents knows the meaning of it.
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Post by Rob Allen on Mar 1, 2019 13:03:42 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2019 15:28:32 GMT -5
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