Saint Urho
Saint Urho (
Creation
The
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).[3][4] The selection of the name Urho as the saint's name was probably influenced by the accession of Urho Kekkonen to the presidency of Finland in 1956.[5] (Similarly, St. Urho's Pub in Töölö, Helsinki, is known to have received its name from Urho Kekkonen and has nothing to do with Saint Urho).[6] Urho in the Finnish language also has the meaning of hero or simply brave.[5]
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.[5] 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, a psychology professor at Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota. The legend now states that St. Urho drove away grasshoppers (rather than frogs) from Finland using the incantation "Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä helveteen!" ("Grasshopper, grasshopper, go from hence to Hell!"), thus saving the Finnish grape crops.[7][5] Another version of the modern celebration of St. Urho's Day is that it was created by Kenneth Brist of
Ode to Saint Urho
The original | English translation |
---|---|
Ooksi kooksi coolama vee |
Ooksi kooksi coolama vee [1,2,3,4,5] |
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.[10] 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.[11] There is also a "Ballad of St. Urho" written by Sally Karttunen.[12]
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.
On March 16, 1999 in
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.[15]
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 students studying Folkloristics, Comparative Religion and Ethnology have organized a St. Urho's Day play yearly since 1987.[19]
See also
- Culture of Finnish Americans
- Heikki Lunta
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-57216-091-0.
- ^ Williams, Linda Tyssen (2001-06-07). "St. Urho legend's creator, Richard Mattson, dies: St. Patrick got fierce competition from Finnish grapes-saver". Mesabi Daily News. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
- ^ "St. Urho Legendary Patron Saint of Finland". St. Urho. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
- ^ "The Origin of St. Urho". St. Urho: Legendary Patron Saint of Finland. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
- ^ YLE(in Finnish). Retrieved February 14, 2021.
- ^ Urho's Pub
- ^ "St. Urho: Legendary Patron Saint of Finland". Retrieved 2007-02-13.
- ^ Interview with Kenneth Brist, WCCO Radio, March 16, 1971, citing unpublished research of Phillip Keezer, Phd.
- ^ "St. Urho - Kenneth Brist".
- ^ Chippewa Herald Telegram, March 16, 1970, page 4.
- ^ McCavic, Gene; Mattson, Richard. "Ode to St. Urho". St. Urho: Legendary Patron Saint of Finland. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
- ^ Karttunen, Sally. "Ballad of St. Urho". St. Urho: Legendary Patron Saint of Finland. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
- ^ "St. Urho Celebrations". St. Urho: Legendary Patron Saint of Finland. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
- ^ "Kaleva--a historic Finnish American Community in the heart of Manistee County", Kaleva, Michigan
- ^ "Home". mainstreetbutte.org.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: St. Urho´s Day, Thunder Bay. YouTube.
- ^ "Home". finlandiaclub.ca.
- ^ "St. Urho's Day Celebration 2014 - Thunder Bay, ON | St Urho's Day". Archived from the original on 2014-03-15. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
- ISBN 978-951-29-4897-0