March 1st is traditionally known as St. David’s Day (Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant) and is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales. The date of March 1st was chosen in remembrance of the death of Saint David on that day in 589, and has been celebrated by followers since then. It was declared a national day of celebration within Wales in the 18th century. The National Assembly for Wales voted unanimously to make St David’s Day a public holiday in 2000.
In 2003 the United States officially recognized St. David’s Day as the national day of the Welsh, and it is invariably celebrated by Welsh societies throughout the world with dinners, parties, recitals and concerts.
People often wear a symbol of either a leek or daffodil in recognition of the day. The leek symbol is worn to commemorate an incident when a troop of Welsh soldiers were able to distinguish each other from a troop of their similarly dressed English enemy. The daffodil is a more recently developed emblem.
Several Welsh cities hold large parades to mark the day, and concerts and small festivals also often take place.