Ode to St. Urho Mar16

Tags

Related Posts

Share This

Ode to St. Urho

Monday, of course, is St. Patrick’s Day, when the Irish celebrate their patron saint and most of the rest of us claim just a bit of Irish ancestry in order to join in all the fun. But do you know what Sunday, March 16th is?

As it turns out, it’s St. Urho’s Day, the occasion when those of Finnish descent celebrate a patron saint of their own. Urho, as legend holds it, drove all the grasshoppers from Finland when they threatened the vital grape crop by shouting in deep and booming voice: “Heinasirkka, heinasirkka, mene taalta hiiteen,” which translated means: “Grasshopper, grasshopper, go away.” And so grateful Finns have been venerating his name ever since.

Okay, so not really. Actually, Urho was the concoction of Richard Mattson who in the 1950s came up with this rather creative and ingenious idea. As he tells it,

Winters are long and cold in Virginia, Minnesota, on the Iron Range. Gene McCavic, a co-worker at Ketola’s Department Store, chided me in 1953 that the Finns did not have saints like St. Patrick. I told her the Irish aren’t the only ones with great saints. She asked me to name one for the Finns. So I fabricated a story and thought of St. Eero (Eric), St. Jussi (John), and St. Urho. Urho, a common Finnish named, had a more commanding sound.’

Since then, the popularity of St. Urho’s Day has grown not only in Minnesota but across the country, where those of Finnish descent – and those just looking to have a little fun – have been celebrating the legendary saint for more than half a century. Though Mattson originally planned a May celebration – perhaps intending to hold it when it would be reliably spring in northern Minnesota – folks wanted something a little earlier, clamoring not just for March but for the day prior to the celebration given over to that other saint.

Mattson obliged, not only coming up with the original celebration but also collaborating with his friend to compose the “Ode to St. Urho,” appropriately, in Finnglish (which means it’s best read aloud), which stands as our poem for the day.

To learn more about St. Urho, check out the website dedicated to his celebration, or listen to the piece on St. Urho’s Day featured in Public Radio International’s “The World,” or watch an animated video describing the mighty Urho, both embedded below.

Ode to St. Urho

Ooksi kooksi coolama vee
Santia Urho is ta poy for me!
He sase out ta hoppers as pig as pirds.
Neffer peefor haff I hurd tose words!

He reely tolt tose pugs of kreen
Braffest Finn I effer seen
Some celebrate for St. Pat unt hiss nakes
Putt Urho poyka kot what it takes.

He kot tall and trong from feelia sour
Unt ate kala moyakka effery hour.
Tat’s why tat kuy could sase toes peetles
What krew as thick as chack bine neetles.

So let’s give a cheer in hower pest vay
On Sixteenth of March, St. Urho’s Tay.

Richard Mattson and Gene McCavic

Translation:

One, two, three, five
Saint Urho is the boy for me.
He chased out the grasshoppers that were as big as birds,
Never before have I heard those words.

He really told those bugs of green,
Bravest Finn I’ve ever seen.
Some celebrate for St. Pat and his snakes,
But Urho boy has got what it takes.

He got tall and strong on feelia sour (sour buttermilk)
And ate kalla moyakka (fish head stew) every hour.
That’s why that guy could chase those beetles,
That grew as thick as jack pine needles.

So let’s give a cheer in our best way,
On the sixteenth of March – St. Urho’s Day!

Note: If you are receiving this post by email, you may need to click on the title at the top of the post to watch the video or listen to the recording. Happy St. Urho’s Day!