The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-03-01
The Land of st. David

This is the day when Welshmen
honor their patron, ST. David, and
tn Ousands of the sons and daughters
of Cambria on this side of the Allan
tic will revive today the great festival
of the fatherland. To the Welshman
the first of March is a date as import
ant as is the seventeenth of March to
the Hibernian. All the schools of
Wales are closed on st. David's Day,
and the children gather in public
halls and sing patriotic songs and
hymns and listen to addresses on ma
tionaI subjects The Red Dragon flag
flies from every house, the symbol
of the recently awakened nationalism
which has swept over Wales in the
last few years. accompanied by a re-
vival of Welsh language and litera-
ture. instruction in the Welsh Ian
guage is now part of the curriculum
in nearly all of the elementary
schools.
This enthusiasm for the old Welsh
tongue and institutions, coincident
with a similar revival in ireland, has
not yet involved any 1essening of the
PATRIOTIC allegiance of Wales to the
British Empire. Wales mas reason TO
be proud Of the part she has played
in the great war, for she has given
quite as many Of her sons, proper
tionateIy to population, as either Eng
land or Scotland. Furthermore,
Welshman, David L1oyd-George, has
ed leaders in this crisis in the en-
pire's history.
The daffodiI is worn today as the
national flower of Wales but the
true emblem of the land is the leek.
that cousin of the humble onion. In
former times, on st. David's Day, all
Welshmer wore leeks in their caps,
and even now gilt aleeks are carried
in procession on st. DaVid's Day, and
the old national badge may be seen
decorating many houses on the ami
versary of the patro& saint. Welsh
men have always had a great fond
ness for the 1eek an article of diet.
Leeks, onion and garlic are to be
found in every Welsh garden. All
though the present-day WelshmaTI
has grown rather ashamed of the an
cient emblem of his people, the 1eek
is as truly the national badge of
Wales as the shamrock is of Ireland,
the thistle of Scotland. and the rose
of England. And it has, at least, one
great merit in that it is edible.
The titu1ar saint of Wales is usually
depicted in old prints as riding on a
ram. He is said to have been the son
of a native prince, and lived in the
sixth century. David is said to have
possessed the power of working mir
acles not only from the moment of
his birth, but even while he was yet
unborn. In one of the ancient manu-
scripts relating to st. David his gem
ealogy is deduced from the Virgin
Mary, of whom it makes him the lin
cal eighteenth descendant. An angel
is said to have acted as his servant
from the moment of his birth, and
afterward, taking the form of a dove,
perched on his shoulder and inspired
him while he was preaching
Brushing aside the myth and Ie-
gend, st. David appears to have been
q very pfous and learned man who
performed invaluable services to the
British church. "He was a doctrine
to all, a guide to the religious, a life
to the poor, a support to the orphans,
a protection to the widows, a. father
to the fatherless, a rule to monks, and
model to teachers.
Sharing the fraiIties of humankind,
the inhabitants of Wales have many
sturdy virtues worthy of emulation,
and those who have crossed the At
Iantie have contributed many valu-
able qualities to the melting pot of
New World civilization.