St. David's Shield with Daffodils & Leeks Tile

“Cymru Am Byth” reads the ceramic tile. “Wales Forever”! Leave our Welsh text as is or replace it with your name, a date, or an English translation. + Here, our St. David’s Shield, which is based on the Welsh Flag of St. David (q.v.), is blazoned with a yellow cross on a sable black field and surrounded by leeks and daffodils. + The leek is the personal emblem of St. David and a national emblem of Wales. Tradition tells us that St. David had his Welsh soldiers who were fighting off Saxon invaders affix a leek to their helmets to aid in distinguishing friend from foe. The leek is worn in Wales on St. David’s Day (March 1). + The daffodil is the national flower of Wales. Daffodils bloom throughout Wales from late February through early April. Like the leek, it is worn in Wales on St. David’s Day (March 1). While leeks and daffodils seem an odd pairing, in Welsh their names are very similar: Leeks are Cenhinen; daffodils, Cenhinen Bedr or (St.) Peter’s leeks. + Image Credit (St. David’s Shield): Saints_Aplenty; (Leeks): Extracted from an undivided back postcard now in the public domain, 1907-1915, from the designer’s private collection; (Daffodils): Extracted and adapted from a late 19th-early 20th century Bible verse prayer card also now in the public domain, from the designer’s private collection of religious ephemera.