A friend of mine at work has alerted me to today's Feast Day. It's not exactly on the Roman or Orthodox calendars--but it is on the calendars of ornery Minnesotans and milk-drinking Finns.

Today is St. Urho's day in Northern Minnesota and in the hearts of Northern Minnesotans everywhere.

He writes:

St. Urho's Day observances began in the mid-1950s in central Minnesota. Oral tradition relates that some Irish-Americans were celebrating and bragging too loudly on St. Patrick's Day (who reportedly drove the snakes out of Ireland, and is celebrated on March 17th) when a Finnish local, Richard Mattson, suddenly proclaimed that Finland also had a patron saint who rid that country of pests the day before, on March 16.

The legend is that many years ago, Finland was a lush and fertile, almost tropical, country and wild grapes grew everywhere. The Finns were prosperous but over time forgot the source of their wealth and well-being, and became lax and unthankful. One year, a plague of giant grasshoppers with a voracious appetites arrived and destroyed the vineyards. Fearful and facing famine, the people prayed for salvation and were saved by St. Urho who, waving his pitchfork, chanted "Heinasirkka, heinasirkka, menetaalta hiiten" ("Grasshopper, grasshopper, get out!") and the pesky creatures were swept into the sea. However, though the Finns survived, as a lasting reminder of their error the land never returned to its former verdant condition.

In honor of the Finnish and Irish traditions, the official colors for St. Urho's Day are purple and green.

In any event, those of us who celebrate St. Urho's Day do not care if the story is real or not. But, the day gives everyone an excuse to celebrate two saintly holidays in a row, which is, after all, the really important part.

So if you're not in on the joke yet, St. Urho is the Finnish St. Patrick.

The Legend of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland is probably a play on words in itself. In the Bible, Satan is often portrayed as a Snake--and in Christian history, paganism developed the same symbol of evil. When St. Patrick drove the pagan druids out of Ireland, he figuratively drove the snakes off the island. In a happy coincidence, Ireland doesn't have a climate hospitable for snake life anyway. But the story isn't about zoology, it's about Theology.

St. Urho, on the other hand, seems to be a story about mixology.

Finnish wine is not known as the finest estates of Europe. In fact: climate, commerce and the European Union seem to conspire against Finnish wine. It turns out that the long winters and Scandinavian landscapes are better suited for producing grain and potatoes (and Vodka and Akvavit) than for growing grapes for wine; excepting Ice Wine, of course.

Ice wine is a style of wine where some grapes are harvested after the growing season has turned too cold to grow the grapes. Ice crystallizes on the outside of the fruit and concentrates the natural sugars in the grape. The resulting wine is remarkably sweet and scarce--the frozen grape doesn't produce very much usable juice for fermentation.

The result is a tiny bit of wine for a fair amount of labor and patience. You can see why frozen Finns and cabin-fevered Minnesotans would like to have a patron for their labor.

So while you're going about your tasks today, if you hear someone yell "Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, meine täättä hiiteen", you'll know to raise a glass of Finnish wine in toast to Northern Minnesotans 'the world around. You're on your own for correct pronunciation if you'd like to propose the cheer first. And if you do, drop me a line in the comments box about how it went.

It's also time to crown a Grasshopper King, drink purple beer (purple beer?!!) and to plant a field of donut seeds (they're called "Cheerios" in America). If you find yourself in Helsinki, Finland today, stop into St. Urho's Pub and raise a pint of Olvi to the Patron Saint of Grasshoppers.

There are St. Urho fan clubs in Canada and Finland as well as the U.S., and the festival is celebrated on March 16 in many American and Canadian communities with Finnish roots. The original statue of St. Urho is located in Menahga, Minnesota. Another interesting chainsaw-carved St. Urho statue is located in Finland, Minnesota. A 2001 book, The Legend of St. Urho by Joanne Asala, presents much of the folklore surrounding St. Urho and includes an essay by Richard Mattson on the "birth" of St. Urho.

St. Urho is my kind of legend. Totally farcical--and everyone's in on the joke. I don't think I'd like it so much if people actually prayed for St. Urho's intercession or something. But if it's just a chance for Minnesotans to go out in the cold late winter air and race their sled dogs, then I'm on board.

Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, meine täättä hiiteen!

Happy St. Urho's Day, everybody!