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St. Urho chases away winter blues
THE CHRONICLE-JOURNAL
03/13/2009

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It‘s pure malarkey, but it‘s the malarkey that gives local Finnish people a reason to throw a party.
On Saturday, Finnish and temporary Finnish will gather in Thunder Bay‘s Bay Street area for St. Urho‘s Day, with a parade, costumes, music and a dance.
St. Urho is the patron saint of Finnish wine makers, whose vineyards were attacked by giant grasshoppers. Back in the day, their saintly hero – Urho means “hero” in Finnish – arrived with a pitchfork and rake screaming at the multi-legged munchers, who promptly vacated, saving the vineyards from devastation.
“It‘s totally fictional,” said Allan Albrecht, a member of the St. Urho planning committee and the day‘s host, the Otava Male Choir.
Not only are giant grasshoppers frightfully scarce in Finland, there aren‘t any vineyards.
“One-third of the country is above the Arctic Circle,” noted Albrecht.
What it is, though, is an excuse to have a party, and an effort to take some wind out of Irish sails prior to St. Patrick‘s Day.
The official date of St. Urho‘s is March 16, the day before St. Patty‘s.
It originated in a Minnesota town‘s bar, said Albrecht, where some chaps of Finnish descent were watching celebrating Irishmen and decided to “cut into their bravado” a bit.
So they invented a holiday.
They started with the maligned critter being frogs, but changed it to grasshoppers after they figured frogs don‘t really do anyone any harm, said Albrecht.
That was back in 1956. Twenty-seven years ago, the holiday hopped the border and the first St. Urho‘s parade, complete with revellers dressing up as the fictional saint, as grasshoppers or vintners armed with rakes.
“They set (St. Urho‘s) birthday as March 16, just to get a jump on the Irishmen,” said Albrecht.
And rather than being sore at the Finnish for finagling a piece of their party, the local Irish have poked back a bit in past years, painting shamrocks on the Finlandia Club‘s steps or decorating store windows with shamrocks.
But the St. Urho‘s crew has always poked back, raiding the St. Patrick‘s party wherever it‘s held.
It‘s all thoroughly silly, but all for a good cause – “just to knock those winter blues out,” Albrecht said.
The sweep of winter‘s cobwebs and cabin fever starts at noon on Saturday, as the parade featuring St. Urho‘s statue and a giant grasshopper starts at the Finlandia Club and winds around the block.
Following the parade, the afternoon‘s program includes singing and dancing. Admission is by booster button, for $3 at the door and at several businesses on Bay Street.
The dance is set for 8 to 11 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door or in advance from Bay Street businesses.
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