(1st March Every Year)

St David, Patron Saint of Wales, is unusual in two important respects.
(1) He is the only Welshman to have been canonized by the Church, and
(2) the most reliable records that survive about him give details of his dietary practices (he was certainly vegan).
He was a 6th century monk, who became a bishop, and possibly Archbishop of all Wales.
He was nicknamed “Aquaticas” because he and his reformed monks only drank water (neither wine nor beer).
He and his brethren based their life on the example of the earliest monks of Egypt, eating only bread and vegetables.

There is no record of why St David (or his land) is associated with the ‘Leek’. One can only imagine that it has something to do with it being a very upright and clean plant, which may have grown in his monastery gardens and added mild flavour to his benign recipes. The ancient Romans who introduced it to the British Isles believed that eating Leeks improved their throats and voice and one can imagine that St David was a fine singer. The Leek is also a member of the Lily family, which is a symbol of purity in Christian imagery, and it grows vigorously during the lean season in which St David’s Feast day falls. Earliest records indicate that this day has never been translated, and so it is the real anniversary of his death and entrance into the company of the saints in heaven.

St David's hymn is sung to the tune of
“Praise My Soul the King of Heaven”,
but just as easily to "Guide me, O thou great Redeemer" if the last line is sung twice:

Christ to humble service calls us,
Pours us out as salt and light,
Flavouring the whole creation,
Bringing hope and truth to sight.
In Saint David’s footsteps treading,
We proclaim a promise bright.

For a life of selfless giving,
We are sanctified by grace;
With this patron saint before us,
Let us gladly run the race.
Christ eternal life is granting,
Through the saints, in time and space.

In the hope that springs eternal
Great Saint David lived and died,
And the promise of the Saviour
In his life is glorified;
Peace and justice, truth and wholeness,
In an ever-flowing tide.

Information sources include: