The phone rings.
I answer and instantly recognize the voice.
It’s my grandmother, Ina.
“Keiffer, are you wearing your purple and green today?”
Until my grandmother’s passing in 2011, I could expect this call every year on March 16th.
Why on this day? Well, March 16th is St. Urho’s Day, dontcha know. Wait…whaaaat???
For 99% of the people reading this blog, you’re probably wondering what the heck St Urho’s Day is. The 1% who know about this celebration are like my grandmother, a Finnish American.
The St. Urho Day “holiday” began in Minnesota in 1956. Richard Mattson is credited for inventing and creating the mythical Finnish man with an incredible power.
According to legend, Urho, which means hero or brave in the Finnish language, was a man who protected the precious grape crop in Finland by getting rid of all the grape eating grasshoppers (hence, the colors purple and green). It was said that Urho was able to accomplish this feat with just his voice. A booming voice, like no other, which Urho fortified by drinking “feelia sour” (sour whole milk) and eating “mojakka” (fish soup). Sounds delicious (not).
The magic words that Urho chanted were… “grasshopper, grasshopper go from hence to Hell!”
That’s it. That’s it all it took for the grasshoppers to leave and for Urho to become a Saint.
This unofficial Finnish holiday is always celebrated the day before St. Patrick’s Day. Why the day before? If you know anything about the Finns, the reason is simple. The creator wanted to have two straight days of commemoration, i.e drinking.
In my opinion, no town celebrates St. Urho’s Day better than Menahga, Minnesota. Not only do they have a statue of the patron saint in the center of town, they have a pancake breakfast, a parade, and a king and queen coronation. That’s a lot of revelry.
I won’t be in Menahga this year, but I will honor my grandmother on this glorious day and wear purple and green. But, I will not drink “feelia sour” and eat “mojakka”. Not all Finnish traditions need to be followed. Besides, I claim more Norwegian ancestry than I do Finnish.
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