A petition calling for St Davidâs Day to become a national holiday has reached over 3,000 signatures, but what are the obstacles facing its supporters?
Almost 3,500 people have signed a petition to make St Davidâs Day (Dydd GĆ”yl Dewi) a national holiday in Wales.
Although Welsh citizens up and down the country have been celebrating St Davidâs Day on 1 March for centuries, this petition would need 6,500 more signatures in order to be considered by the UK government.
Elfed Wyn Jones, who created the petition, said: âMaking St Davidâs Day a national holiday would strengthen Walesâ position as a unique country with its own unique culture and traditions. Scotland and Ireland have a public holiday to celebrate their patron saints, so why shouldnât Wales get the same opportunity?â
Elfed, who works as an officer for Cymdeithas yr Iaith (The Welsh Language Society), feels strongly that every person in Wales would benefit from this change. âMaking St Davidâs Day a national holiday would provide the opportunity for every Welsh person to consider what it actually means to be Welsh.â he says.
The designation of St Davidâs Day as a public holiday is wholly supported by the four main political parties in Wales (Labour, Plaid Cymru, The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats), but this may not hold as much significance as one might assume.
For years, the Welsh have been petitioning the government to make 1 March a national holiday, with little success. Neil Pritchard, a spokesperson for the Welsh Assembly, says: âA similar petition was introduced to us in 2017, but unfortunately, as the Welsh Assembly has no authority over legislation concerning this matter, we could not move the petition along.â
The matter of public holidays is not devolved to Wales, meaning that the responsibility falls to the Westminster government. The main reason Westminster is against the notion of making St Davidâs Day a national holiday is that it would ânot be supported by businessesâ in Wales, fearing that small businesses in particular wouldnât welcome the change.
However, some Welsh citizens, like Elfed, are not happy to simply stick to the status quo. Bosses at Urdd Gobaith Cymru, a Welsh youth organisation, have taken the initiative to give all of their employees a day off for St Davidâs Day, regardless of the governmentâs decision:
O hyn ymlaen fydd Mawrth y 1af yn ddiwrnod swyddogol o wyliau i bob aelod staff @Urdd i ddathlu Dydd GĆ”yl Dewi ????????????????????????????â€ïžâïž
St David’s Day on 1 March will be an official holiday for every member of @Urdd staff as we aim to celebrate our national identity ????????????????????????????â€ïžâïžhttps://t.co/sWem1azASO
â Gwersyll Caerdydd (@GwersyllCdydd) January 17, 2019
Elfed supports such initiatives, saying: âA national holiday would be our opportunity to raise awareness of Welsh culture, and to showcase the best version of Wales to the rest of the world.â
Implementing this change worldwide will not be an easy task, however. Although Elfedâs petition hasnât reached enough signatures to be considered by Parliament, he remains positive that political change is possible.
Here’s a quick look at the history of the campaign for St David’s Day to become a national holiday: