Diwrnod St Dwynwen Hapus - Happy St Dwynwen’s Day! You might hear this uttered by Welsh couples to one another in January each year, but what is this Welsh celebration day all about?
St Dwynwen’s Day is the annual celebration of Saint Dwynwen, the patron saint of love in Wales. It's a celebration of love and affection taking place on 25th January each year. It's often thought of as the Welsh Valentine’s Day equivalent.
Saint Dwynwen was unlucky in love, but still became the Patron Saint of lovers in Wales. Keep reading as I unravel this mystery and explain a little about how we celebrate St Dwynwen's Day in Wales.
What Happens on St Dwynwen's Day?
Much like Valentine’s Day, there's no right or wrong way to celebrate St Dwynwen's Day. It's a day of celebrating love and affection, usually for your partner but also for your family and friends too.
The most traditional way to celebrate St Dwynwen's Day is for a woman to receive a love spoon from her partner or admirer. Traditionally, these would have been carved by hand, demonstrating to her and her father that you are handy and would be able to provide for a future family.
Love spoons at Brecknockshire Museum
Of course, this is a dated tradition. Lovespoons might still be given as a romantic gesture, but usually ones bought from a shop rather than homemade.
There are love spoons with all sorts of patterns and symbols that represent different emotions and you can personalise them too.
These days, a much broader range of gifts are given on St Dwynwen's Day than just love spoons. There are also commercially available cards in both English and Welsh with St Dwynwen's Day on them.
But the most important part isn't the gifts or the cards, but spending time with loved ones and telling them that you love them. It's common to go out for a meal to celebrate or just 'cwtch' up on the sofa and enjoy a movie.
Cwtch (pronounced: cw-tsh) is a Welsh word with no direct English translation, although the best way to describe it is a warm tight hug or cuddle from a loved one. Although you could 'hug' anyone, you could only 'cwtch' those special in your life.
In my experience, not everyone in Wales celebrates St Dwynwen's Day, but it's recognised by a growing number of people, especially in Welsh-speaking communities.
When is St Dwynwen’s Day?
St Dwynwen’s Day, or Dydd Santes Dwynwen, is celebrated on the 25th of January each year.
This dates back many centuries, with calendars from the fifteenth century showing the celebration on this date.
| Year | Date of St Dwynwen's Day |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Saturday, January 25th |
| 2026 | Sunday, January 25th |
| 2027 | Monday, January 25th |
Despite Dwynwen’s widely recognised position as the Patron Saint of Lovers in Wales, she is not officially commemorated in the Catholic or Anglican liturgies, or even within the Church in Wales.
Who is St Dwynwen?
Dwynwen lived in the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park area, in the fifth century. She was the daughter of a Welsh King called Brychan Brycheiniog, and was known to be the most beautiful of her 24 siblings.
She fell in love with a man called Maelon, the son of another Welsh King. They planned to marry but her father was unhappy with the relationship as he had already arranged a marriage for her to someone else.
This infuriated Maelon and led to a huge argument, causing them to break up
Dwynwen is said to have run into a nearby forest. After many more tears, an Angel or spirit appeared and offered her a potion to cure her love for Maelon. When she drank it, Maelon was turned into ice.
Shortly after this, a spirit appeared, offering Dwynwen three wishes, she chose:
- For Maelon to be thawed
- That God would help all true lovers
- That she would never be married
All three came true.
To thank God for granting her wishes, Dwynwen became a nun and established a convent on an island just off the coast of Anglesey, this is known as Ynys Llanddwynn, meaning ‘Island of the Church of Dwynwen’.
The Church of St Dwynwen, Llanddwyn Island
Ynys Llanddwyn became a shrine for pilgrimage during the Middle Ages, and people continue to visit what it today where you can still see the ruins of St Dwynwen's Church.
Also Read: How To Visit Ynys Llanddwyn
The Revival of St Dwynwen's Day
The celebration, and day itself, have had somewhat of a revival in the last few decades, prompted by a student at University College, Bangor in the 1960s printing a series of cards designed by a local artist.
This was at a time when Welsh language activism was on the rise, and many people were taking more interest in Wales itself. The cards became very popular and many other publishers began to follow the same lead
The Welsh Language Board partnered with Tesco to distribute 50,000 free St Dwynwen's Day cards in 43 of their Welsh stores in 2003, this larger exposure helped to improve awareness about the day.
Local tour companies continue using the legend of St Dwynwen to promote Welsh customs and traditions.
The Cross of St Dwynwen
Do Welsh People Celebrate St Valentine's Day AND St Dwynwen's Day?
Yes, we celebrate both St Valentine's Day and St Dwynwen's Day in Wales. However, as the two dates are only a month apart, most couples will choose one to celebrate more than the other.
Generally, St Valentine's Day is more commonly celebrated across the whole country, although St Dwynwen's Day is more popular among Welsh-speaking communities.
Remember, only 15.7% of the population speak Welsh daily, with English being the dominant language in Wales.
Related Questions
How Do You Pronounce St Dwynwen's Day?
Although it may look a little tricky to pronounce, an easy phonetic way to pronounce ‘Dwynwen’ in English is 'doy'n-wen'.
What is St Dwynwen's Day in Welsh?
St Dwynwen’s Day in Welsh is ‘Dydd Santes Dwynwen’. The phonetic pronunciation of this for English speakers is ‘deeth sant-es doy'n-wen’.
Published: 14 July 2022 · Last updated: 5 March 2024