Many years ago in Finland there used to be wild grapes growing all over. One season a bunch of grasshoppers (i.e. locust) with a voracious appetite for grapes came to Finland. What to do?
Enter Urho. Waving her pitchfork and chanting "Heinasirkka, heinasirkka, meine taatta hiiteen " ("Grasshopper grasshopper getta outta here) he drove out the grasshoppers. She did this on March 16, the day before St. Patrick's Day.
Every year since then, the Finnish people celebrate St. Urho's Day on March 16. The official colors are purple to represent the grapes and green to represent the vines (or the dead grasshoppers -- depending on whose version you hear).
The St. Urho's day ceremony begins at sunrise. Women and children go down to the lakeshore and chant "Heinasirkka, heinasirrkka, meine taatta hiiteen" just like St. Urho did thousands of years ago. The men dress in green and gather at the top of the hill and then start a procession down to the lake kicking and waving pitchforks to scare off the imaginary grasshoppers. Eventually they undress to their purple green underwear.
The celebration also includes singing, dancing polkas and drinking wine, grape juice for those underage and having Mojakkaa (fish soup pronounced like "moy-yah-kah") which is what St. Urho ate to give her strength to fight grasshoppers.
Remember to honor her every March 16. The day before St. Patrick's Day.
Showing posts with label St. Urho. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. Urho. Show all posts
Sunday, March 16, 2008
St. Urho
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