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What are the Symbols of England, Scotland and Wales?

MBLEMS OF BRITAIN

ach country in Britain has its own patron saint and floral emblem:

England - St. George and the RoseThe national flower of England is the rose. The flower hasbeen adopted as Englands emblem since the time of the Wars of

the Roses - civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house ofLancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house ofYork (whose emblem was a white rose).

Scotland - St. Andrew - the Thistle and Scottish BluebellThe national flower of Scotland isthe thistle, a prickly-

leaved purple flower which was first used in the 15th century as asymbol of defence. The Scottish Bluebell is also seen as theflower of Scotland.

Wales - St. David and the DaffodilThe national flower of Wales is the daffodil, which istraditionally worn on St. Davids Day. The vegetable called leek is

also considered to be a traditional emblem of Wales.

There are many explanations of how the leek came to be adopted as the nationalemblem of Wales. One is that St David advised the Welsh, on the eve of battlewith the Saxons, to wear leeks in their caps to distinguish friend from foe. As

Shakespeare records in Henry V, the Welsh archers wore leeks at the battle ofAgincourt in 1415.

Northern Ireland - St. Patrick and the ShamrockThe national flower of Northern Ireland is the shamrock, athree-leaved plant similar to clover. An Irish tale tells of how

Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. Heused it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, andthe Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same

entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrockon his feast day.

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PATRON SAINTS AND NATIONAL DAYS

1 March, St. David's Day,is the national day of Wales.

National Days and National Holidays

St David's Day is celebrated in Wales on 1 March, in honour of StDavid, the patron saint of Wales. He was a Celtic monk, abbot andbishop, who lived in the sixth century. He spread the word ofChristianity across Wales.

The most famous story about Saint David tells how he was preachingto a huge crowd and the ground is said to have risen up, so that he

was standing on a hill and everyone had a better chance of hearing

him.

St David's Day is commemorated by the wearing ofdaffodils or

leeks. Both plants are traditionally regarded as national emblems.

On St David's Day, some children in Wales dress in their nationalcostume, which consists of a tall black hat, white frilled cap and

long dress. The national flag of Wales, depicting a fiery reddragon (Y Ddraig Goch) against a green and white background,

is also flown.

17 March, St. Patrick's Day,

is the national day of

Northern Ireland and Republic ofIreland.

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He is credited with bringingChristianity to Ireland. Born in Britain, he was carried off by pirates

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and spent six years in slavery before escaping and training as amissionary.

The most famous story about Saint Patrick is him driving the snakes

from Ireland.

The day is marked by the wearing ofshamrocks the

national emblem of both Northern Ireland and the Republicof Ireland.

23 April, St. George's Day,is the national day of England.

A story dating back to the 6th century tells that St George rescued amaiden by slaying a fearsome fire-breathing dragon. The Saint's namewas shouted as a battle cry by English knights who fought beneaththe red-cross banner of St George during the Hundred Years War

(1338-1453).

Some people wear a red rose on St Georges Day.

30 November, St. Andrew's Day,

is the national day of Scotland.

St. Andrew was one of Christ's twelve apostles. Some of his bones aresaid to have been brought to what is now St. Andrews in Fife duringthe 4th century. Since medieval times the X-shaped saltire cross upon

which St. Andrew was supposedly crucified has been the Scottishnational symbol.

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