A1 Listen and repeat.
B1 Read and listen.
In Wales, the leek is well known for its health benefits, as well as for the Welsh stories about how it can help fight the cold or protect you from lightning. There is also a legend connected with it: the Welsh patron saint, David, advised the Welsh to carry it on their helmets in a battle so that they could distinguish their soldiers from the enemy. They fought the Saxons in a field full of leeks, and they won. The Welsh started wearing a leek on their caps as a reminder of their bravery and loyalty. Even today soldiers in the Welsh regiments eat raw leek on St David's Day, just as the saint did while he was fasting. The Welsh display the leek proudly at every international rugby match, and they have even stamped it on the pound coin.
It is not completely clear how the daffodil came to symbolise Wales. Some say it is because the words for a daffodil and a leek are similar in Welsh: 'cenhinen' means 'leek', and 'cenhinen Bedr' means 'daffodil'. Others believe it is because it blossoms in early spring, around St David's Day, and spring symbolises new birth, optimism and beauty. The former Prime Minister, Lloyd George, always wore a daffodil in his lapel on 1st of March, or St David's Day, and a lot of people used to follow his example. They even decorated their homes with it, and they gave it as a gift to friends on that day.
Today on St David's Day people wear one or both of these two national emblems. Together with the Welsh Dragon flag, they symbolise pride in being Welsh.
Learn more about Wales