Saint Urho

I recently spent time in Finland, Minnesota. Finland is one of those places where there isn’t much to do except drink, hunt, fish and try not to be killed or eaten by the various beasts that abound.

Finland, MN is an interesting place with long winters and short summers. The people of Finland have carried on some of the traditions of their homeland, traditions such as mosquito slapping, vodka drinking and naked sauna competitions.

But the folks of Northern Minnesota have taken all this tradition one step further by creating their very own holiday; and their own saint too. Saint Urho (Pronounced "oorho").

The legend of St. Urho began in Northern Minnesota in the 1950s. However, there are differing opinions as to whether it began with the fables created by Sulo Havumaki of Bemidji, or the tongue-in-cheek tales told by Richard Mattson of Virginia. Either way, the legend has grown among Finnish-Americans to the point where St. Urho is known across the United States and Canada, and even in Finland. Today, Saint Urho’s day it's taken seriously enough that it (the day before St. Patrick's Day) is officially recognized in all 50 states.

During this important day, participating Finns and Finn-wanna-be’s celebrate Saint Urho by dressing in royal purple and nile green. He is reputed to have used his "splendid and loud voice" to chase the grasshoppers out of pre-Ice Age Finland (when the climate was much milder) and save the grape harvest. The Finns love him.

I believe the Finns love him because, as the legend goes, these farmers injected vodka into the individual grapes to ensure a high alcohol content.

At sunrise, women and children go to the lakeshore and chant "Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, meine täättä hiiteen" (roughly translated: "Grasshopper, grasshopper, go to Hell!") as St. Urho did thousands of years ago. The men of the local villages dress in nile green costumes and gather at the hillsides that overlook the local lakes. They begin walking down the hillside, chanting, and kicking the grasshoppers out as they go. Somewhere during the process of kicking out the grasshoppers and chanting, they are to change their costumes from green to purple.

St. Urho's Day is celebrated on March 16th, the day prior to the better known feast of some minor saint from Ireland, who was alleged to have driven the snakes from that island.