On March 1, the inhabitants of Wales and the Welsh around the world celebrate St. David's Day, the patron saint of Wales.
Saint David is a real person. The son of the prince, the ruler of Powys, the grandson of the ruler of the peninsula, where is now the city of St. Davids and the Cathedral of St. David (Pembrokeshire). David himself was the founder and rector of this cathedral. There are many legends about David. For example, once Saint David during the sermon remarked that those, who are far from him, can not hear him. Then he put a handkerchief on the ground, stepped on it and continued his speech. At this very moment, the ground under his feet rose and David was over the parishioners. Now everyone could hear his words. David performed many miracles: he created sources in places, which have always been considered arid, healed people with water from salt springs, resurrected the dead. God and the angels appeared to him in visions. In one vision, he was told that he would leave the earthly life on March 1. From that moment he fulfilled his duties even more zealously than before. The prediction came true. He died on March 1, 601, and was buried in Pembrokeshire, in the very place where the cathedral is now. In the Middle Ages, Saint David was so revered that the pilgrims believed, that it is better to go twice to St. David, than once to Rome. About 50 churches in South Wales today are sanctified by his name. The day of the death of St. David, March 1 was celebrated in Wales until the XVI century (before the Reformation) as a religious holiday; from the XVIII century the day of St. David - the national holiday of Wales, and the saint himself personifies the Welsh people.