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Ode to St. Urho
St. Urho Statues
St. Urho Celebrations
Origin of St. Urho
Calendar of Finnish Events
Links - St. Urho sites
Links - Finnish sites
Does the legend of St. Urho have its
source in the Kalevala?
St. Urho's Wife, Sinikka
Ballad of St. Urho
St. Urho on a rally car
Richard Mattson passed away in
June 2001. His story is reprinted here.
In Defense of Sulo Havumaki as
originator of the St. Urho legend
Another claim to the origination of
the St. Urho legend.
www.mojakka.com
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Hippie98 HTML Editor
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Saint Urho Welcomes You!
St. Urho is said to
have chased the grasshoppers out
of Finland, thus saving the grape crop.
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The legend of St. Urho originated in
Northern Minnesota in the 1950s.
However, there are differing opinions as to whether it began with the
fables created by Sulo Havumaki of Bemidji,
or the tongue-in-cheek tales told by Richard
Mattson of Virginia. Either way, the legend has grown among North
Americans of Finnish descent to the point where St. Urho is known and
celebrated across the United States and Canada, and even in Finland.
St. Urho's Day is celebrated on March 16th, the
day prior to the better known feast of some minor saint from Ireland,
who was alleged to have driven the snakes from that island.
The legend of St. Urho says he chased the grasshoppers
out of ancient Finland, thus saving the grape crop and the jobs of
Finnish vineyard workers. He did this by uttering the phrase: "Heinäsirkka,
heinäsirkka,
mene
täältä
hiiteen" (roughly
translated: "Grasshopper, grasshopper, go to Hell!"). His feast is
celebrated by wearing the colors Royal Purple and Nile Green. St. Urho
is nearly always represented with grapes and grasshoppers as part of
the picture.
Saint Urho has been recognized with proclamations in all
50 states. Minnesota Governor Wendell Anderson issued a proclamation in
his state, the unofficial home of Saint Urho, in 1975.
We hope you enjoy our effort to honor this mythical
Finnish-American hero. Please feel free to share your St. Urho
experiences and celebrations by clicking on the phrase below and
sending a note to the webmaster.
Tim "Timo Winkenen" Winker
Randy "Uncle Toivo" Jokela
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Finland, MN, annual Saint Urho's Day Festivities
Finland, Minnesota, becomes Saint Urho Central for
the North Shore
communities every year in mid-March. For 2013 the party will be held
the weekend of March 15-17, with the parade on Saturday at Noon as
usual. This is the 38th Annual celebration of Saint Urho in Finland.
The
theme for this year is Finnish Medieval. Hear ye, Hear ye! Ye are
hereby invited for food, drink and merriment at the Festival of St.
Urho the Great!
Schedule
of events for 2013.
Details of the Saint Urho's Day festivities in Finland.
Finland St. Urho page on Facebook.
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 2nd Annual Mojakka Cook-Off in Menahga
"He ate culla
mojakka effery hour"
- from the Ode to Saint Urho
It just wouldn't be Saint Urho's Day without a
bowl of mojakka.
The popular Saint Urho's Day Mojakka
Cook-OffTM is back for 2013! Chefs and tasters are
invited to join in for a tasting as part of Menahga, Minnesota's St.
Urho Day 3-day celebration. The Mojakka Cook-Off returns for another
year on Sunday, March 17th.
The Mojakka Cook-Off is one of many events in
Menahga's Saint Urho's Day celebration, which starts on Friday evening.
Menahga is just south of Park Rapids, MN, and is
home to a large statue in honor of Saint Urho.
Saint
Urho's Day
schedule in Menahga.
Stories and photos of past Mojakka Cook-Offs
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 Parade Goes Both Ways in
Barnes, Wisconsin
The parade in Barnes
celebrates the feast of Saint Urho ... and the feast of Saint Patrick.
Beginning at 1:00 PM on Saturday, March 16, 2013, the parade from the
Cedar Lodge Steakhouse & Grille to the Barnes Trading Post is in
honor of St. Urho. At 2:30, the parade reforms and travels from the
Barnes Trading Post back to the Cedar Lodge Steakhouse to honor St.
Patrick.
Festivities continue late into the evening.
Details
here.
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 Thunder Bay, Ontario, celebrates
Saint Urho's Day
on Bay Street.
Bay Street and the Finlandia Club are Saint Urho
Central in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The parade begins at 11:00 am (Eastern
time zone) and there are festivities throughout the day.
Photos from the 2009
Saint
Urho's
Day celebration in Thunder Bay.
Video of the 2010
Saint Urho's Day parade in Thunder Bay.
News story on the 2010
Saint
Urho's
Day party.
There is a golf
course in Thunder Bay called St. Urho. Really!
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Butte, Montana continues to toast Saint Urho
As a mining town, Butte attracted a fair share of
Finns, and their
descendants carry on Finnish traditions. Saint Urho's Day is celebrated
at the Helsinki Bar and Yacht Club, so named because it is “on the
western shore of the fabulous Berkeley Pit Mine.” Crowning of St.
Urho is at 4 pm on Saturday, March 16, followed by a performance by
the Great Scots Pipers.
Events
in
Butte. MT
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 Finlayson, MN Festivites to be held March 23, 2013
The St Urho’s Day celebration & parade in
Finlayson, Minnesota,
occurs on the 4th Saturday in March. It includes a parade at 11:00 am,
pancake
breakfast, grilled pork chops, dance, medallion hunt, tournaments
(volleyball, basketball,
and cribbage), and children’s activities.
Events are held at the Finlayson Community Center
and are sponsored by the Finlayson-Giese Lions Club.
New to this year's festivities, the 29th Annual
celebration, is a Vintage
Snowmobile Show. Trophies will be awarded in several categories.
Note that St. Urho spices are used to flavor the
pork chops served that day, and those spices are available year-round
at Chris’ Food Center in Sandstone, MN.
Schedule
for
the 29th Annual St. Urho's Celebration
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Was St. Urho a Failure?
A book arrived in the mail recently at SaintUrho.com
HQ that indicates the grasshopper population in Finland is thriving.
The book is titled Suomen heinäsirkat ja hepokatit (The
Grasshoppers and Crickets of Finland).
Dr. Sami Karjalainen has written a 200 page book
full of color photos of Finnish grasshoppers. The book includes a CD
with grasshopper calls.
Read more here.
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