Saint David’s Day – Celebrating Welsh Culture

Getting to know Cymru/Wales

• We currently have three National Parks: Eryri, Bannau Brycheiniog and Pembrokeshire Coast.
• Mount Everest (the highest mountain in the world) in Asia, was named after Welsh explorer, George Everest.
• Music is a huge part of Welsh culture: Local choirs and international music acts such as Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, Charlotte Church, Katherine Jenkins, Duffy, Stereophonics, Catatonia and Manic Street Preachers are popular across the globe. We are also rather fond of the harp, our national instrument.
• You can travel the entire coastline of Wales, via the coastal footpaths – depending on the weather!
• Popular Welsh foods include roast lamb, cawl cennin (leek soup), rarebit (a type of melted cheese on toast), bara brith (fruit cake), bakestones (delicious ‘Welsh cakes’), cockles (seafood) and laverbread (seaweed). We also have our own Welsh cheeses, such as Snowdonia Cheddar, Blaenafon Cheddar and Caerphilly Cheese!
• Our national vegetable is the leek and our national flower is the daffodil.
• Eryri is home to the highest mountain in Wales, England and the Netherlands, called ‘Y Wyddfa‘ (3,560 ft).
• We have a rich history of storytelling and ancient druids. One of the most famous collections of stories is the ‘Mabinogion‘.
• In winter, you can see the ‘Mari Lwyd‘ (Grey Mary), an exciting tradition involving dancing, a horse’s skull and rap battles.
• We have the longest place name in Europe:

“Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch:

As you might gather while trying to read any local road signs, a 19th century joker was responsible for naming this town on Ynys Môn (Anglesey) (deep breath) Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. It is, naturally, a record-breaker and the stuff of films, music and books – enjoy the picturesque village, and go landscape for any photos with those signs.” visitwales.com

Check out how our international students celebrated Saint David’s Day this year!