It may seem strange to us to have a relative of the onion pinned on your lapel or sticking from your hat, but there is a very good reason for this in Wales. First of all, March 1 is St. David's Day in Wales. St. David is the patron saint of Wales, just as St. Andrew is of Scotland and St. Patrick is of Ireland. Tradition has it that St. David died on March 1 in 589. The date was declared a national day of celebration within Wales in the 18th century.

To celebrate the day the Welsh people wear either a daffodil, (a generic Welsh symbol which is in season during March) or a leek (which was St. David's personal symbol). Wearing the leek arises from an occasion when a troop of Welshmen were able to distinguish each other from a troop of English enemies dressed in similar fashion by wearing leeks on their helmets. Also daffodils and leeks have similar names in Welsh—Cenhinen (leek), Cenhinen Pedr (daffodil).

40 Degrees – Arizonans shiver uncontrollably. People in Scotland sunbathe.
35 Degrees — Italians cars won't start. People in Scotland drive with windows open.
20 Degrees — Floridians wear coats, gloves, hats. People in Scotland throw on a t-shirt.
15 Degrees — Californians begin to evacuate the state. Scots go swimming.
Zero Degrees — New York landlords finally turn up the heat. Scots have the last BBQ before it gets cold.
10 Below — People in Miami cease to exist. Scots lick flagpoles.
20 Below — Californians fly away to Mexico. Scots throw on a light jacket.
80 Below — Polar bears begin to evacuate the artic. Scottish boy scouts postpone winter survival classes until it gets cold enough.
100 Below — Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Scots pull down their ear flaps.
173 Below — Ethyl alcohol freezes. Scottish cows complain of farmers with cold hands.
460 Below — All atomic motion stops. Scots say, "Chilly, isn't it?"
500 Below — Hell freezes over. Scots support England in the World Cup

Edward I, the "Hammer of the Scots" had no intention of tolerating the set backs his forces had endured from Robert the Bruce and his Scottish troops using skilled leadership and guerilla warfare to win victories and gradually recover much of what had been lost to the English early on. Edward set forth northwards once again. However, the now aged king died in Cumbria, within sight of the Scottish border and the removal of this feared adversary gave additional encouragement to the Scots.

By the time Edward's successor, his son Edward II, led a huge English army northwards again, Bruce had not only gained supremacy over the English occupying forces, but had won a virtual civil war against the Comyn and Balliol supporters. By 1314 he could face Edward's approach to relieve Stirling Castle (the last remaining English hands) strongly and loyally supported by an army from all over Scotland united as never before. Bruce's personal struggle for the crown of Scotland had now extended itself into a more universal and symbolic patriotic fight for the freedom of the Realm of Scotland.

The Scottish forces took up a strong site on the slopes above the Bannock Burn a few miles East of Stirling. On the evening before the main battle King Robert himself slew the English knight Henry de Bohun, who had charged towards him to offer single combat. The King's hard-won battle experience was put to good use in the ensuing battle. He did not make the same mistake that Wallace had at Falkirk, and the small but mobile Scottish cavalry force was given the priority task of eliminating the deadly English archers.

This accomplished, the battle became a long, hard slog, with the heavily armoured English knights bogged down in the swampy terrain and the Scots at last gaining the upper hand. Edward managed to escape to Dunbar and thence into England, but large ransoms were gained from many other high ranking English prisoners.

Although Bannockburn was the decisive battle of the war, it is often forgotten that many years of struggle and misery followed the death of Robert I in 1328. There followed a series of underage or ineffectual succeeding kings leading to both internal strife and many battles lost against the "Auld Enemy" of England.

It had always been Robert Bruce's ambition to venture on a crusade, and tradition maintains that after his death his heart was taken in a casket by one of his staunchest supporters, Sir James Douglas, who threw it ahead of him before being cut down in battle against the Moors on his was to Jerusalem.

The heart was later retrieved and taken back for burial in Melrose Abbey.