Top 10 facts about leeks
TODAY is St David’s Day, so let’s see what we can find out about a traditional Welsh emblem.
1. It is said that a vision of St David inspired Welsh soldiers to wear leeks in their caps for a victorious battle in 640AD against Saxon invaders.
2. Long before that, leeks were worshipped in Wales for their supposed medicinal properties and power to keep evil spirits away.
3. There was also a superstition that sleeping with a leek under her pillow on St David’s Day would enable a women to dream of her future husband.
4. The Royal Welsh Fusiliers have a tradition of eating raw leeks on St David’s Day.
Patriotic St David's Day parade through Cardiff city centre
5. Leeks are only mentioned once in the King James Bible, in Numbers 11:5.
6. In Ancient Rome, Emperor Nero’s love of leeks gave him the nickname Porophagus (leek eater).
7. Leeks were part of the diet of ancient Egypt from at least 2000BC.
8. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (460BC-370BC) prescribed leeks as a cure for nosebleeds.
9. In French, the expression “faire le poireau”, (literally translated as “make the leek”) means to hang around or kick one’s heels.
10. “I am qualmish at the smell of leek.” (Shakespeare, Henry V).