Why is Dydd Santes Dwynwen the Welsh Day of Love?

24 January 2020, 22:36 | Updated: 27 January 2020, 23:02

January 25th is Dydd Santes Dwynwen or Saint Dwynwen's Day, the day of the Welsh saint of love, but how did it come to be celebrated?

The Story of Saint Dwynwen

Like lots of ancient Welsh history, stories handed down over the years have changed so there are various different tales about Dwynwen.

According to legend, Dwynwen was the daughter of a 5th Century Welsh king Brychan Brycheiniog who ruled an area around what's now known as the Brecon Beacons.

She fell in love with a man called Maelon Daffodril. Unfortunately, Maelon's dad had promised he'd marry someone else. Upset that she couldn't be with the man she loved, Dwywen prayed that she could fall out of love with him.

Dwynwen was then visited by an angel who had a special potion to help her forget Maelon and turn him into a block of ice (turns out Disney's frozen is nothing new!)

Fortunately for Dwynwen, God then gave her three wishes. With her first she wished that Maelon would be freed from his block of ice. Secondly, she asked that God would help all true lovers achieve their dreams and desires. Finally, she wished to never get married promising to devote the rest of her life to God instead.

Dwynwen set up a church at Llanddwyn on Ynys Môn where she lived the rest of her life as a nun. The remains of the building can be seen today and two statues of crosses have been put up at the site.

Celebrating Dydd Santes Dwynwen

Today Dwywen is still remembered as the Welsh saint of lovers with Saint Dwywen's Day marked on the 25th of January each year.

In the 1960s a Bangor University Student Vera Williams produced some of the first modern Saint Dwynwen's Day Cards.

Now they can be found in stores across Wales from independent gift shops to major supermarkets.