St David’s Day
St David’s Day commemorates St David (Dewi Sant), the patron saint of Wales, who died on 1 March in 589 (probably – it might have been in 588).
In 2000 the Welsh Assembly voted unanimously to make St David’s Day a public holiday. However, there’s been no legislation to make it one – Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Office rejected an e-petition in 2006, and the then Welsh Secretary Peter Hain said in 2004 that the main obstacle had been that the Assembly hadn’t prioritised it over and above the other legislation it was requesting from the Westminster Parliament.
All the same, the number of parades and other celebrations has been growing.
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