Welsh Snowglobes
Wales (Cymru) is a country that forms part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 4.6% of the UK population live here. It has many mountains, great coastline and lots of things to see and many snowglobes. Some of these commemorate Wales and things that represent it, rather than particular towns and parts of it.
The daffodil is a major symbol of Wales.
The flower is found everywhere in Wales in spring, and lots of people buy them for wearing or for window displays leading up to St David’s Day, commemorating the patron saint of Wales on March 1st.
Many Wales snow globes feaure the red dragon which appears on the Welsh flag (usually with the mountains of Wales where they live in the background). The red dragon has been associated with Wales for centuries, and as such, the flag is claimed to be the oldest national flag still in use.
In Arthurian legend the young wizard Merlin, told King Vortigern the red dragon represented his people (native Britons including the Welsh) in their upcoming battles against the invading Saxon armies. In the 15th century, King Henry Tudor showing his supposed descent from the last king of the Welsh by placing a red dragon on a background of white and green (the traditional Tudor colours). The Wales born English king went on to reign over England for 24 years as Henry VII. In 1959 Queen Elizabeth II declared that only the red dragon on a green and white flag should be flown on government buildings in Wales making the flag official’.
There are more than 600 castles in Wales, more per square mile than anywhere in the world. Some of these have been lived in continuously for a thousand years, some are ruins, and others are mounds, a few stones and/or ditches. They form a common background in Welsh globes
The popular image of Welsh 'national' dress, of a woman in a red woollen cloak and tall black hat is one which largely developed during the nineteenth century when traditional Welsh values were felt to be under threat. The tall Chimney Hat did not appear until the late 1840s. Shawls were fashionable between 1840 and 1870. Originally they were blue or patterned but most globes use red as in red dragon. The outfit is now seen as a part of Welsh culture and appears on all types of souvenir artefacts.
Sheep farming has always been important to the economy of Wales. Much of Wales is rural countryside and sheep are seen throughout the country by tourists. According to some sources, there are approximately 10 million sheep in Wales (the human population is just over 3 million!). Sheep farming was introduced in Wales by Cistercian monks, mainly for the animal’s wool.
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