Saint Urho ( fi, Pyhä Urho ) is a fictional
saint of
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, created and elaborated by
Finnish Americans
Finnish Americans ( fi, amerikansuomalaiset, ) comprise Americans with ancestral roots from Finland or Finnish people who immigrated to and reside in the United States. The Finnish-American population numbers a little bit more than 650,000. Ma ...
in Northern Minnesota in the 1950s, to celebrate their heritage and extend celebrations of
St. Patrick's Day.
His celebration day is set to March 16, the day before the March 17 feast day of St. Patrick. St. Patrick's feast day is celebrated by
Irish Americans
, image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png
, image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state
, caption = Notable Irish Americans
, population =
36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...
,
of whom there are also many in Minnesota.
Creation
The
legend
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...
of Saint Urho was the invention of a
Finnish American
Finnish Americans ( fi, amerikansuomalaiset, ) comprise Americans with ancestral roots from Finland or Finnish people who immigrated to and reside in the United States. The Finnish-American population numbers a little bit more than 650,000. Man ...
named Richard Mattson, who worked at Ketola's Department Store in
Virginia, Minnesota
Virginia is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States, on the Mesabi Iron Range. With an economy heavily reliant on large-scale iron ore mining, Virginia is considered the Mesabi Range's commercial center. The population was 8,423 ...
in the spring of 1956. Mattson later recounted that he invented St. Urho when he was questioned by coworker Gene McCavic about the Finns' lack of a saint like the
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
St. Patrick, whose feat of casting the snakes out of Ireland is remembered on
St. Patrick's Day. In fact, the patron saint of Finland (except for the
Orthodox Church of Finland) is the bishop
Saint Henry, whose feast day occurs on January 19.
According to the original "Ode to St. Urho" written by Gene McCavic and Richard Mattson, St. Urho was supposed to have cast ''"tose 'Rogs"'' (those frogs) out of Finland by the power of his loud voice, which he obtained by drinking ''"feelia sour"'' (sour whole milk) and eating ''"kala mojakka"'' (fish soup). The selection of the name Urho as the saint's name was probably influenced by the accession of
Urho Kekkonen
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as prime minister ...
to the presidency of Finland in 1956.
(Similarly,
St. Urho's Pub in
Töölö
Töölö (; sv, Tölö, formerly spelled ''Thölö'') is the collective name for the neighbourhoods Etu-Töölö ( sv, Främre Tölö, lit=Front Töölö, links=no) and Taka-Töölö ( sv, Bortre Tölö, lit=Rear Töölö, links=no) in Helsink ...
,
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...
, is known to have received its name from Urho Kekkonen and has nothing to do with Saint Urho). ''
Urho'' in the Finnish language also has the meaning of ''hero'' or simply ''brave''.
The original "Ode to St. Urho" identified St. Urho's Day as taking place on May 24. Later the date was changed to March 16, the day before St. Patrick's Day so the Finns could start drinking green beer a day before the Irish.
St. Urho's feast is supposed to be celebrated by wearing the colors Royal Purple and Nile Green. Other details of the invented legend also changed, apparently under the influence of Dr. Sulo
Havumäki
Havumäki was a village within the municipality of Leivonmäki, Finland, itself a small town of only 1162 people (2003), until Leivonmäki was incorporated into Joutsa in 2008. Located in the Central Finland region, approximately from Helsinki, H ...
, a psychology professor at
Bemidji State University in
Bemidji, Minnesota
Bemidji ( ) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 census. According to 2021 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 15,279, making i ...
. The legend now states that St. Urho drove away
grasshoppers (rather than frogs) from Finland using the
incantation
An incantation, a spell, a charm, an enchantment or a bewitchery, is a magical formula intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects. The formula can be spoken, sung or chanted. An incantation can also be performed during ceremo ...
''"Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä helveteen!"'' ("Grasshopper, grasshopper, go from hence to Hell!"), thus saving the Finnish grape crops.
Another version of the modern celebration of St. Urho's Day is that it was created by Kenneth Brist of
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
Chippewa Falls is a city located on the Chippewa River in Chippewa County in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 14,778 in the 2021 census. Incorporated as a city in 1869, it is the county seat of Chippewa Cou ...
. Brist, a high school teacher, was teaching in the
Upper Peninsula
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...
of Michigan in the early to mid-1950s in an area largely populated by people of Finnish heritage. He and his friends concocted March 16 as St. Urho's Day so that they had two days to celebrate, the next day being St. Patrick's Day.
Ode to Saint Urho
Popularity
Brist promoted the "annual cancellation" of the St. Urho's Day Parade in Chippewa Falls with advertisements in the Chippewa Herald Telegram and by teaching his high school students about the legend of St. Urho.
The "Ode to St. Urho" has been modified to reflect these changes in the feast day and legend. The Ode is written in a self-parodying
form of English as spoken by Finnish immigrants. There is also a "Ballad of St. Urho" written by Sally Karttunen.
There are St. Urho fan clubs in Canada and Finland as well as the U.S., and the festival is celebrated on March 16 in many American and Canadian communities with Finnish roots. The original statue of St. Urho is located in
Menahga, Minnesota. Another interesting chainsaw-carved St. Urho statue is located in
Finland, Minnesota
Finland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Crystal Bay and Beaver Bay townships, Lake County, Minnesota, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 195.
Geography
The community of Finland is loc ...
. A 2001 book, ''The Legend of St. Urho'' by Joanne Asala, presents much of the folklore surrounding St. Urho and includes an essay by Richard Mattson on the "birth" of St. Urho.
On March 16, 1999 in
Kaleva, Michigan a large Metal Sculpture of a Grasshopper was dedicated in honor of St. Urho's day. Kaleva is a community settled by Finnish immigrants in 1900. Kaleva is named after the ''
Kalevala
The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and ...
'', the Epic Finnish story about the
Creation of the Earth.
Many places with mixed populations of Finnish and Irish have an annual St. Urho's day event on the night before St. Patrick's Day.
Butte, Montana holds such a celebration each March 16.
Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, just north of Minnesota, is another location where St. Urho's Day is joyfully celebrated on the weekend nearest to March 16. The Finlandia Club is the headquarters for all that is Finnish in northern Ontario. A grasshopper slung on a pole is hauled through the streets in a parade through the streets near the Finlandia club where the celebration continues with food, music and dance.
Although St. Urho's Day is not widely known or celebrated in Finland, it has been celebrated in Turku since 1987. At the
University of Turku
sv, Åbo universitet
, latin_name = Universitas Aboensis
, image_name = University of Turku.svg
, motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle''
, established = 1920
, type ...
students studying Folkloristics, Comparative Religion and Ethnology have organized a St. Urho's Day play yearly since 1987.
[Anne Heimo, Tuomas Hovi & Maria Vasenkari (ed.) 2012: Pyhä Urho: fakeloresta folkloreksi = St Urho: from fakelore to folklore. Folkloristiikan julkaisuja 2. Turku: Turun yliopisto. ]
See also
*
Culture of Finnish Americans
*
Heikki Lunta
Heikki Lunta is the embodiment of the Finnish snow god character who originated in the mythology of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The character of Heikki Lunta is a product of the heavy Finnish-American presence in Michigan's Keweenaw Upper Pen ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urho, Saint
Mascots introduced in 1956
Finnish-American culture in Minnesota
Fictional Christian saints