#cymraes

Here's an easy-peasy list of vocabulary to use to describe your body in Welsh :D

Head - Pen

Arm (pl. Arms) - Braich (pl. Breichiau)

Shoulder (pl. Shoulders) - Ysgwydd (pl. Ysgwyddau)

Elbow (pl. Elbows) - Penelin (pl. Penelinoedd)

Hand (pl. Hands) - Llaw (pl. Dwylo)

Finger (pl. Fingers) - Bys (pl. Bysedd)

Thumb (pl. Thumbs) - Bawd (pl. Bodiau)

Belly - Bola

Back - Cefn

Bottom - Pen-ôl

Leg (pl. Legs) - Coes (pl. Coesau)

Knee (pl. Knees) - Pen-glin (pl. Pengliniau)

I've also created a very terrible visual image on a stickman that points to the some of the body parts and labels them

I tend to keep my face hidden away (unless I'm feelin myself haha) but I have a bunch of new prints, badges and mirrors in my online shop that are begging to be discovered, so here I am ✨

My blog is all about my home country of Wales, but it recently occured to me that there are many people out there that likely have no idea about Wales's existence! So - with that in mind - let's go over some of the key facts about Wales together!

Where is Wales?

A simple answer - Wales is in the red/orange colour on this map! It's West of England, but not far enough to be on the island of Ireland. A more complicated answer - Wales is one of the four countries that is part of the United Kingdom shown on this map (note: Ireland is not included as a part of the UK but is present on the map due to its location).

What language do they speak in Wales?

We have two official languages in Wales, and those are Welsh and English.

Welsh is a Celtic language that's related to Irish and Scottish Gaelic, to list a few examples. Welsh has been spoken in Wales for hundreds of years and was spoken in Wales long before English was.

What does the Welsh flag look like?

Above is an image of the flag. The flag depicts a horizontal white stripe above a green stripe, with a red dragon overlayed.

Why is there a dragon on the Welsh flag?

The red dragon (also known as Y Ddraig Goch in Welsh) is used as a symbol for Wales and the Welsh people. It originates from old Welsh mythology about a great battle between a red and a white dragon but has become a generalised symbol of the Welsh people. One version of the tale of these two dragons comes from Arthurian legend (which is in fact Welsh, not English) in which the wizard Myrddin (Merlin) saw these dragons as a part of a prophecy about the resistance against the Saxons

Are there any other symbols of Wales?

Yes! We have many symbols that we use to represent us in different circumstances. The most common alternatives to the red dragon are the daffodil and the flag of St. David (shown below), which is a yellow cross over a black background. Other symbols of Wales include the red and gold lion flag of Owain Glyndwr and the gold dragon

Is Wales in England?/Are Welsh people English?

Long story short, no! While this question is always asked innocently in intent, assuming that we are English is actually fairly offensive so please refrain from calling Welsh people England or saying that Wales is in England! Wales and England have a long history of conflict, including the English supression of Welsh language, culture and history, so we don't really like being assumed to be the same people.

Does Wales have any unique cultural celebrations?

Yes! Perhaps our most identifiable cultural event is St David's day. Similar to St Patrick's day that is celebrated in Ireland, St David's day is a day to celebrate our Welsh identity. On March 1st, people wear daffodils and wave Welsh flags and celebrate proudly our existence and culture. There are often big parades in cities and school children will usually celebrate through something called an eisteddfod. Eisteddfodau (plural of eisteddfod) are big arts celebrations that are done all over Wales to continue our old traditions of respecting poets and musicians, as well as other art forms that have been included in modern eisteddfodau.

We also celebrate the National Eisteddfod, which is the biggest annual celebration of arts in Wales. The eisteddfod is run in Welsh, but does facilitate English speakers through simultaneous translations and by producing all promotional and guide material in both English and Welsh. At the end of the eisteddfod, the overall winner is announced as being the bard, which comes from the old tradition of Welsh nobles hiring official poets and musicians and bestowing them with the high ranking social title of the bard.

While working on university work and some bigger posts for this blog, I've begun feeling that panging, longing sense for home again - that hiraeth feeling that I can never fully explain to my English friends and flatmates here in England. It's not necessarily a sad feeling in itself but it does sometimes make me sad, so here's how I manage my hiraeth on those days when it makes me sad:

Eat welshcakes! It sounds super simple - because it is! Making and eating something that reminds me of home can soothe my urge to be back home and as a result soothe that sadness of knowing I can't be home right now

Listen to Welsh music This doesn't just have to be traditional music either. Some days traditional music does really ease my hiraeth, but other days I find I need something a little more engaging to the modern Welsh in me and so Welsh pop music can really help! (If you're struggling with where to find any of this, there are some great spotify playlists about or you could even try listening to Radio Cymru)

Watching things in Welsh When my hiraeth is particularly overwhelming, hearing people casually using our language really eases that for me. S4C has a decent range of Welsh telly to consume as and when needed. There's also a very minimal amount of Welsh language content on youtube that I scrounge for when in need of things to enjoy

Speak Welsh Easier said than done when away from home, don't get me wrong, but it really does ease my hiraeth to even just speak in Welsh to myself about the flat while I'm going about my day to day business. It helps me feel a whole deal closer to home, for sure