St. Urho - Patron Saint of grasshopper management?

Believe it or not...... there really is a Saint for grasshopper management, and his name is Saint Urho (pronounced ärrrr-hoe, stressing the rolling r). While he is currently recognized as the Official Patron Saint of Finnish vineyard workers, I would like to consider nominating him for mascot status for the Orthopterists Society.

Though fictional in origin, a monument to this legendary figure stands in Menahga, Minnesota. His statute stands about 15 feet tall, depicting St. Urho with a pitchfork in his hand and a grasshopper skewered on the end.



(Photograph -C. Bomar 1997)

As legend has it, he was responsible for saving the Finnish vineyards from a swarming outbreak of locusts. His method of control -a pitchfork and some strong words. "Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, meine täättä hiiteen" or roughly translated to English "Grasshopper, grasshopper, get the hell out of here," was enough to eradicate the hoards of locusts from the vineyard. These Finnish grape farmers were pretty protective of their crop, considering the short growing season. As the legend goes, these farmers injected vodka into the individual grapes to ensure a high alcohol content. And because of this heroic act of pest management, Urho was erected into sainthood by the local vintners.

March 16th is St. Urho day, and properly celebrated by dressing in royal purple and nile green.



(Artwork copied with permission of the Artist, Nancy Moreland, Brule, Wisconsin)

At sunrise, women and children go to the lakeshore and chant "Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, meine täättä hiiteen" as St. Urho did thousands of years ago. The men of the local villages dress in nile green costumes and gather at the hillsides that overlook the local lakes. They begin walking down the hillside, chanting, and kicking the grasshoppers out as they go. Somewhere during the process of kicking out the grasshoppers and chanting, they are to change their costumes from green to purple.

This festival of Finnish-Americans was created in the upper mid west to compete with a slightly more popular ethnic holiday a day later- St. Patrick's Day. Activities for the St. Urho Day festival include drinking purple beer, planting donut seeds (apparently Cheerios are the main seed source), a parade, and most importantly the crowning of a Grasshopper King.


References
Havumaki, S. 1998. The Legend. http://www.helsinki.fi/~pkaartin/legend.html

Rubin, N. 1996. Who? St. Urho. Detroit Free Press. 3-15-96.

Vähämäki, B. 1996. St. Urho: Finnish-American & Finnish-Canadian Patron. The Finnish American Reporter 7(3):12-14

OTHER St. Urho Links (I know its hard to believe)
http://finnish.sa.utoronto.ca/pub.html-The University of Toronto Finnish Club
http://www.gomenahga.com/urho.htm -Menahaga, the home of St. Urho 

Want to send a friend a St. Urho's greeting Card-  Blue Mountain Arts has just the ticket for you

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