Why leek wales

Your cart is empty. Language English Welsh. We are open! Please allow working days for us to process your orders. Ordering from outside UK? Six Fun Facts for St. Why are the Leek and the Daffodil the Symbols of Wales?

David's Day Posted by Becca Hemmings. Ever wondered why we wear leeks or daffodils on St. David's Day? The origins of the leek as a symbol or an emblem of Wales and all things Welsh are now lost in time but it is highly likely that they go back to the days of the druids, the priests and holy men who controlled society in the centuries before the Romans came to Britain.

In those pagan times people worshipped trees, flowers and plants and saw in them magical properties. The leek was revered as something that could not only help cure colds and alleviate the pains of childbirth, it could also be used to keep away evil spirits and to foretell the future. One common belief was that a young girl who put leeks beneath her pillow at night would see the face of her future husband in her dreams. The smell would surely be guaranteed to give her bad dreams but it was a commonly held belief.

And not only that - leeks tasted very good in cawl. There is a legend that says King Cadwaladr of Gwynedd once ordered his men to put leeks on their helmets to identify themselves in a battle against the Saxons - which, apparently, took place in a field full of leeks. But as the same story is also credited to St David it is highly likely that this tale is just an interesting and attractive story that probably came from the flowing pen of the writer Michael Drayton.

We do know that the soldiers of Edward I adopted the green and white colours of the leek for their uniform during the Hundred Years War. Almost certainly, the much feared Welsh archers were wearing the colours during the Battle of Crecy. In members of the household guard presented leeks to Princess Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, on St David's Day and there are records of payments for leeks in the accounts books of several Tudor kings.

These were to be worn by the guards on 1 March. Shakespeare, of course, refers to the wearing of leeks in his play Henry V. The young King tells the Welsh warrior Fluellen that he is wearing a leek because "I am Welsh, good countryman. David by hundreds and possibly thousands of years, to an age when people worshipped trees, plants and other such aspects of Mother Nature. To an age before Christianity, and perhaps to the last stronghold of the Druids on the Island of Anglesey.

The Druids were not only the Priests, Doctors, Poets and Minstrels of ancient Celtia, they were also the teachers who retained the sacred knowledge of ancient times. It was highly regarded as a cure for the common cold, alleviating the pains of childbirth and was a tasty, healthy ingredient in cawl, the traditional Welsh broth. It could seemingly offer protection against wounds in battle or against being struck by lightning, and was also a means of foretelling the future and for keeping away evil spirits It is also claimed that by placing a leek under a pillow at night, young maidens could see the features of their future husbands.

And so today each year on St. Outside the army however, many other Welsh folk have substituted the daffodil for the leek, perhaps because it looks more attractive and certainly smells a lot better. As to the relative merits of the leek and the daffodil, it is purely a matter of personal choice as to which to wear on St.