Want to know more about St David’s Day? And maybe how you can get the children involved in the tradition? If you love any excuse to celebrate, St David´s Day is a great one. Here´s how you can join in with the fun or get creative and make your own traditions.
What is St David´s Day?
The 1st March is the date we celebrate the Patron Saint of Wales, and those with either a Welsh heritage or simply an appreciation of the Welsh culture, will partake in many traditions. For example, dressing in traditional clothes, singing, and making Welsh cakes!
Things to do on St David´s Day
Attend an Eisteddfod
The traditional Welsh arts festival, pronounced Ay-steth-vod, is considered the ultimate St David’s Day celebration. Dancing, singing and generally having fun is the order of the day at an Eisteddfod and many events are being held across Wales. If you can’t get to one, why not throw your own mini-event? Dress the little ones up in traditional Welsh costumes, ramp up the music and have a St David’s Day to remember.
All Things Daffodil
This vibrant yellow flower, with its instantly recognisable trumpet shape, is the national flower of Wales. Sadly, they don’t stick around for long, and a great way of keeping the sunshine flower with you all year round is to get creative with some daffodil crafting. There are numerous hints and tips to be found online for using both real flowers and creating your own.
Love crafts? Leeks and Dragons are also symbols of Wales, so there´s a lot of options to choose from or you can do them all!
Have Some Fun in the Kitchen
Traditional Welsh fare will be on thousands of tables come the 1st of March. Whilst the adults will take care of the actual meal, your children can get involved by making some easy, yet delicious, Welsh cakes. Created using only 5 main kitchen staples as ingredients; butter, self-raising flour, caster sugar, sultanas, and an egg, you can easily customise your recipe to make them appealing to all ages.
Not a fan of sultanas? Sandwich two plain Welsh cakes together using jam for a delicious treat youngsters will love!
Sing a Song
Approximately 22% of Welsh people actually speak the Welsh language, but whether you speak the native tongue or not, there are many simple songs you can teach your children as an introduction to this musical language. Nursery rhymes are easy to learn, and a vast range is available on YouTube, so take a look. Children love to sing and will really enjoy partaking in a song that sounds so different and unusual to their ears. If a song is too much for them, then a simple phrase such as Happy St David’s Day, ‘Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus´, will more than suffice.
Movie Day
If the weather forecast is poor (which is likely!), or you are simply unable to organise anything outside, get the Welsh cakes made and settle down to a film or two. Bonus points if they are set in Wales.
A quick search will produce a myriad of choices, many of which are suitable for younger children. There will also be televised St David’s Day celebrations for your family to enjoy if you´d prefer.
At Schoolhouse Daycare, we enjoy learning, encouraging confidence and we love life! If you think your child would enjoy life at Schoolhouse, then please do not hesitate to arrange a visit.