March

March is officially the 1st month of Spring!!

Like most months, March weather lore has many old sayings to guide us:

'When March comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb.'

'A dry March and a wet May

Fill barns and bays with corn and hay.'

'As it rains in March so it rains in June.'

'March winds and April showers

Bring forth May flowers.'

Today, March 1st is St.David's Day. So to celebrate, here are 10 things you really ought to know about the Welsh national day.

1. St David’s Day falls every year on March 1st. This was the date patron saint of Wales, St. David died in 589.

2. It wasn’t until the 18^th century though that St David’s Day was declared a national day of celebration in Wales.

3. Saint David is typically depicted holding a dove, and often standing on a hillock. His symbol is the leek.

4. In 2007 Tony Blair rejected calls for St. David’s Day to become a Welsh national holiday, despite a poll saying that 87% of Welsh people wanted a March 1st holiday.

5. A Welsh stew, named Cawl and containing lamb and leeks, is traditionally consumed on St. David’s Day.

6. Across Wales on March 1st, St. David’s Day parades take place, and in bigger cities food festivals, concerts and street parties also occur.

7. Children in Wales take part in school concerts or eisteddfodau, with recitation and singing being the main activities

8. The association between leeks and daffodils is strengthened by the fact that they have similar names in Welsh, Cenhinen (leek) and Cenhinen Pedr (daffodil, literally "Peter's leek").

9. Younger girls sometimes wear traditional Welsh costumes to school. This costume consists of a long woollen skirt, white blouse, woollen shawl and a Welsh ha t.

10. Despite the fact that Saint David abstained from drinking and advised others to do the same, a number of Welsh breweries make special St. David’s Day ales. Cardiff brewers Brains describe theirs as ‘a light, daffodil coloured ale, dry hopped with Styrian Goldings to create a thirst quenching spring ale with a refreshing bite and dry hop aroma.’

I found this site while searching for some yummy Welsh recipes......they've put together some really old recipes taken from the 18th century, right up to popular modern day dishes.......

http://www.recipesfromwales.com/

Mothering Sunday UK - 18th March

Mothering Sunday, sometimes known as Mother's Day, is held on the fourth Sunday of Lent. It is exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday and usually falls in the second half of March or the beginning of April.
Mothering Sunday was originally a time when people returned to the church, in which they were baptized or where they attended services when they were children. This meant that families were reunited as adults returned to the towns and villages where they grew up. In time, it became customary for young people who were working as servants in large houses, to be given a holiday on Mothering Sunday. They could use this day to visit their own mother and often took a gift of food or hand-me-down clothing from their employers to her. In turn, this moved towards the modern holiday, on which people still visit and take gifts to their mothers.

Say it with... A beautiful Mother's day card from Cym Cards, either send it yourself or take advantage of our 'send it for me' service at no extra cost