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Today is Saint Urho’s Day.
The tongue-in-cheek holiday was reportedly created in 1956 by Finnish-American Richard Mattson, of Virginia, Minnesota. Mattson was asked by a co-worker why the Finns didn’t have a headline saint, similar to the Irish Saint Patrick.
Mattson made up a story about the mythical Saint Urho, borrowing the name from Urho Kekkonen, who had just been elected president of Finland.
In the initial telling, 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 holiday was placed on May 24th.
Over the years, the story morphed. The common legend now is that Urho cast a horde of grasshoppers out of Finland to save the grape crop, and the wine industry. Kenneth Brist, a teacher in the Upper Peninsula, is credited with moving the holiday to March 16th, a day ahead of Saint Patrick’s Day.
Those celebrating Saint Urho’s Day are encouraged to wear royal purple and Nile green, to commemorate the grasshoppers and the grapes. You are under no obligation to chug a bottle of sour whole milk.
