Saint Dwynwen is Wales’ very own patron saint of love. People celebrate the day of love on January,25. St.Dwynwen day is again an opportunity to express how we feel about the person we love. It is also a celebration where people celebrate love. Hardly we know anything about the day and the annual celebration. Cadw’s a history expert tells some interesting tidbits of the celebration. Here is what he says.
St.Dwynwen Day Facts-
1. Dwynwen is a word which means “she who leads a blessed life”.
2. Saint Dwynwen set up a convent in Llanddwyn island. It lies on the west coast of the Anglesey. People use the dead remains of this in the Dwynwen’s well. We can see those dead remains in the well.
It is a common believe that well is home to sacred fishes. These fishes are capable of predicting that who will succeed in love. Thereby meaning whose relationship will flourish. If the fishes are active in the well while the personal visit. It is a good sign for having a very faithful husband ahead.
3. Besides from the well, there is also Crochan Llanddwyn, meaning Llanddwyn’s cauldron, which is a small wishing well that is located in a rabbit warren between Llanddwyn Island and Newboroug. In this case according to folklore, if the water in the well boils while visitors are approaching. Then it has a very good significance. For people living there, this means that love will come to your life along with great good luck too.
4. There is a tradition of giving St.Dwynwen’s day gift. People there in Wales, gives Welsh’s love spoon as a gift to the visitors. In the year 2007, there was a carved love spoon. This was the biggest love spoon in the world and measured around 44 ft.
5. You can visit Santes Dwynwen’s church on the tiny island of Llanddwyn, off the west coast of Anglesey. But what you just need to be is quick. Llanddwyn is a tidal island. This remains attached to the mainland at all but the highest tides.
6.Though St. Dwynwen is the patron saint of love in wales. But he is also a patron saint of the farmer beasts.
7. A group of Denbighshire farmers celebrated Saint Dwynwen’s day back in 2007. They turned their milk bottles into makeshift lonely heart ads. They attached their messages to invite people to “fancy a farmer”. It still remains a mystery whether the farmers gained their love to date or not.
Story of St.Dwynwen
St Dwynwen is the Welsh patron saint of lovers, which makes her the Welsh equivalent of St Valentine.
Dwynwen lived during the 5th century and fell in love with a prince Maelon Dafodrill. Her father had 24 daughters, and he managed to make that Dwynwen will marry someone else. She was so upset and begged God to make her forget him. After she fell asleep, an angel came carrying a potion to erase all her memory Maelon and turn her into a block of ice.
God then gave her three wishes. Forst was to thaw Maelon, a second was that God meets the hopes and dreams of true love. A third was that Dwynwen should never marry. All three wishes were fulfilled and as a mark of thanks, she devoted all her life to God’s service.
