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St David's Day Google doodle paints the home page Welsh

A new Google doodle celebrates the Welsh patron saint's day, with a dragon and daffodils.

Joe Svetlik Reporter
Joe has been writing about consumer tech for nearly seven years now, but his liking for all things shiny goes back to the Gameboy he received aged eight (and that he still plays on at family gatherings, much to the annoyance of his parents). His pride and joy is an Infocus projector, whose 80-inch picture elevates movie nights to a whole new level.
Joe Svetlik
2 min read

Today is St David's Day, and Google is celebrating with its very own Welsh-themed Google doodle.

In the doodle, a red dragon is seen clutching the L of Google, sniffing a daffodil. Traditionally, people wear either daffodils or leeks to celebrate the day.

The 1 March marks the death of St David, and is a national holiday in Wales. Born near the end of the fifth century, St David founded a Celtic monastic community on the spot where St David's Cathedral now stands, in Pembrokeshire. He's thought to have died in the year 588.

St David's Day was declared a national day of celebration in Wales in the 18th century, but Samuel Pepys noted celebrations in the 17th century. And it's celebrated further afield too -- in 2003, then US president George Bush declared 1 March the recognised day of the Welsh in America. The Empire State Building is floodlit in the Welsh national colours of red, green and white every 1 March.

Recitations and singing are the main traditions, and some lucky school children may be granted a half day off.

Yesterday Google celebrated the writer of The Barber of Seville with a doodle. The tradition started in 1998, when Google founders went on a beano to the Burning Man festival, and wanted to leave a note for people visiting the search site in case the servers went down.

Since then it's grown to incorporate animations, short films, and even playable games. You can see the full archive here, and even buy merchandise from the online shop. Check out some of our favourites in the video below. I'm going to start a petition to have a different doodle every day for a year, see what Google can rustle up.

So, Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus to all our Welsh readers! Let me know what you make of the doodle in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.