St. David's Day, published 1 March 1895
"St. David’s Day is celebrated by the Welsh people in honor
of the patron saint, David. This great
and good man, it is said, was born in Pembrokeshire, South Wales, in the latter
part of the fifth century. Historians
claim for him a royal lineage on both sides and trace it on his mother’s side
through seven generations to a sister of the Virgin Mary. He was extraordinarily endowed by nature and
received a very liberal education, besides being a pupil of the eminent scholar
Paulinus for 10 years."
"St. David was a religious and devout man, and he consecrated
his life and energy to the work of the ministry. Being a very magnetic man and an influential
and gifted public speaker, also a possessor of large means which he liberally
divided with the needy, made him the most respected a popular man of his
time. He was the organizer of religious
movements, established monasteries, etc,. and also was in various ways a public
benefactor. With all these worthy
qualities in a man, it is no wonder that the warmhearted appreciative Welsh
people honor his and love his memory."
"St. David’s Day, the first of March, has often been
celebrated in recent yeas by holding the long established Eisteddfods on that
day."
"The meaning of the word “Eisteddfod” is “a sitting,” “a
session,” or “a setting to be,” and was anciently applied to a sitting or
congress of the Bards; it is therefore an institution of the Bards. In other words, it is the pivot on which the
whole system of Bardism turns and the national life of the Cmri. The
Bard is a professional poet or musician and a member of the Bard’s order, one
whose works have been passed upon and accepted at the sessions of Eisteddfods."
"There is no authentic record of when or where the first
Welsh Eisteddfod was held. Tradition
dates it back to some two thousand years B.C.
It is generally agreed by historians, however, that there was one held
in St. Mellons, Wales, in the year 517."
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