Ah grasshopper it’s Paddy’s Pal St Urho’s day so don your green and purple early.
Never heard of the Finnish holy man, well, you probably don’t come from Minnesota.
Where the Finnish Diaspora in America’s Mid West created their own St Patrick, replacing grasshoppers for snakes.
The story goes that Urhu banished the grasshoppers before the last ice age after they threatened Finland’s vineyards.
And so at sunrise on March 16, Finns in royal purple and green gather around the shores of their Land of A Thousand Lakes.
And chant ‘Heinasirkka, heinasirkka, menetaalta hiiteen’.
Or ‘Grasshopper, grasshopper, go away!’
Before, of course, singing and dancing polkas and schottisches (country dances) and drinking grape juice or wine.
Urho ho ho
We have Finn-American department store owner Richard Mattson from Virginia, Minnesota, to thank for St Urho.
After inventing the story in 1956 as a counter to colleague Gene McCavic’s bating about St Patrick.
The likely lads even came up with an Ode to St Urho (named for the Finnish president of the day).
Urho’s powers we are told derives from eating viili sour milk and eaten kalamojakka (fish soup) every hour.
Paddy’s eve
Now while Urhu is lauded among Finnish-Americans and Finnish-Canadians in Ontario, the homeland favours the real St Henry.
Whose name day is January 19.
So if you missed that or just want to start early on your Paddy’s Day celebrations then you’ll have Finn and games with Urhu.
Particularly when Finns and Irish come together like the inventors of the myth.
With the town of Menahga and its statue to our hero the centrepiece.
Finns are looking up
Aer Lingus flies to the twin cities of St Paul-Minneapolis with pre-clearance from £624.
And, of course, who wouldn’t want to chant our take on the Finnish-Americans’ exhortation.
Ah grasshopper it’s Paddy’s pal St Urho’s Day.
