Dydd Santes Dwynwen (
Welsh for St Dwynwen's Day) is considered to be the
Welsh equivalent to
Valentine's Day and is celebrated on 25 January every year. It celebrates
Dwynwen: she is the Welsh saint of love.
Throughout Wales, children and adults make cards to give each other
in a celebration of their love, or sometimes anonymously to entice the
other person into love. Much of Welsh history is based on stories and songs which were
traditionally passed on by word of mouth. As such, the original tale has
become mixed with elements of
folktales and
Celtic stories.
A
Burns supper is a celebration of the life and
poetry of the poet
Robert Burns, author of many
Scots poems. The suppers are normally held on or near the poet's birthday, 25 January, sometimes also known as
Robert Burns Day or
Burns Night (Scots:
Burns Nicht), although they may in principle be held at any time of the year. Burns suppers are most common in
Scotland and
Northern Ireland but occur wherever there are
Burns Clubs,
Scottish Societies, expatriate Scots, or aficionados of Burns' poetry.
There is a particularly strong tradition of them in southern
New Zealand's main city
Dunedin, of which Burns' nephew
Thomas Burns was a founding father.
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History and Legend concerning "Dydd Santes Dwynwen"
ReplyDeleteDwynwen is believed to have been a daughter of King Brychan Brycheiniog, who lived in the 5th century. Dwynwen lived in Anglesey, and her name is still recalled in place names such as Llanddwyn and Porthddwyn.
In the tale told of her, Dwynwen falls in love with a young man named Maelon, but rejects his advances. Stories differ substantially on the events that follow but the outcome remains the same. Either she is raped by Maelon and prays for assistance, or she is unable to marry him due to her father's refusal and prays to forget her love for him. An angel provides her with a potion. Maelon drinks it and turns into ice. Dwynwen then prays for three requests (either given as a result of drinking the potion, or prayed for when she sees what happens to Maelon).
These three requests are that Maelon be released; that, through her, God look after all true lovers; and that she remain unmarried. She then retreats to the solitude of Llanddwyn Island off the west coast of Anglesey to become a hermit until she dies, in about AD 460.