With its unpredictable late winter weather, March in the northwoods sometimes feels like a long, cold slog through slush with a hole in your boot. Instead of hibernating inside waiting for signs of spring, warm your spirit this month by attending two popular back-to-back holiday celebrations: St. Urho’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day.
St. Patrick’s Day, or feast of St. Patrick, is a globally recognized holiday honoring Irish culture, celebrated annually on March 17. St. Urho’s Day, a more recent and lesser-known Finnish-American tradition, takes place the day before. Together, the two holidays bring a unique blend of folklore, history, and community spirit to the northland.
St. Patrick’s Day
Named for the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day dates back to the fifth century with an interesting story. According to his own historical notes, Patrick was kidnapped as a teen from his home in Roman Britain, and taken to work on Irish farms as a slave. While there, he became a Christian and eventually he escaped back to his home.
After a period of religious study, Patrick became a deacon, and then a bishop. He decided to return to Ireland with a mission to convert the pagan druids to Christianity, encouraging a cultural shift across the country.
St. Patrick is also credited with the miracle of ridding Ireland of snakes, though science shows there have been no scaly serpents on the island since the last ice age. Druids often used snake symbolism, so some people believe this was a metaphor. However, the tale didn’t appear until centuries after Patrick’s death, so it may have simply become a way to explain why Ireland had no snakes (and also add to their hero’s story).
Modern celebrations of Irish heritage on St. Patrick’s Day often include parades, wearing green (to make you invisible to leprechauns and avoid being pinched), eating corned beef and cabbage, displaying shamrock decorations, listening to Irish music, and drinking green beer.
In Thunder Bay, the St. Patrick’s Day festivities start on the 14th with a puppet show and party for the kids at Waverley Library. Later that evening, adults can enjoy a holiday-themed comedy show featuring comedian Mark Menei at The Foundry.
Also on the 14th in Duluth, the Caddy Shack Indoor Golf & Pub is hosting St. Patty’s at The Caddy 2 with Teague & the Paddy Wagon for a night of traditional Irish dance music.
Duluth turns green on the 15th for Lucky’s St. Patrick’s Day Bar Crawl, featuring more than five venues, professional photographers, an afterparty, and more. On the 16th, the Irish folk musical group Willowgreen is performing a St. Patrick’s Day album release party at the Sacred Heart Music Center.
Keep an eye on local social hub schedules for more events and holiday specials.
St. Urho’s Day
While mythical embellishments have been added to St. Patrick’s story throughout history, he was a real person who changed Ireland with his influence. St. Urho, however, has a more playful tale of origin. Finnish-Americans in Minnesota concocted the legend in the 1950s as a Finn-themed counterpoint to St. Patrick’s Day, and the idea took on a life of its own.
“St. Urho is a saint [who] saved the grape crops (used to make wine) from terrible grasshoppers that were destroying grape fields,” explains Arlene Conzelman, the managing executive director and youth program coordinator for Friends of Finland, the nonprofit that organizes the annual St. Urho’s Day celebration in Finland, Minn. “It is said he gained his strength by eating sour milk and fish soup.”
According to legend, St. Urho chanted with his booming voice to scare the grasshoppers away from the precious grapes. In Finnish, the chant is “Heinisirka, heinisirka, mene taalta hiiteen,” translating to “Grasshopper, grasshopper, go away!”
As a citizen of the small northwoods town of Finland for almost 20 years, Conzelman has seen and participated in many St. Urho’s Day festivities. “I’ve been told that St. Urho’s came to be celebrated [here] when a group of locals had been at a bar discussing ways to ‘liven’ Finland up during the quiet time of the year,” she says.
Ms. Helmi contest. | SUBMITTED
Annual traditions include a fanciful parade with colorful floats, decorating in green and purple (to represent grasshoppers and grapes), live Finnish music events, craft and food vendors, creative games, prize drawings, and more.
“Every year the St. Urho’s Day committee sets a ‘theme’ for float builders to keep in mind when creating their floats,” Conzelman says. The theme this year is a big one—the 50th anniversary of St. Urho’s Day. “Who knows what crazy ideas we will see for floats this year.”
Another playful event unique to the small town’s festivities is the Ms. Helmi contest. According to Conzelman, male contestants compete to be chosen as St. Urho’s wife by dressing as women and answering beauty pageant questions at several local establishments in an effort to “show themselves off as the manly women they dress to be.”
The legend of St. Urho has been spreading—festivals are popping up anywhere with a strong Finnish population. If you’re spending the weekend north of the border, Thunder Bay is hosting a St. Urho’s Day event at the Prince Arthur Hotel on Saturday the 15th.
In Finland, festivities begin Friday evening on March 14th with the Ms. Helmi contest, followed by the main event on Saturday with fun for the whole family. In Conzelman’s words, “You never know what to expect when it comes to St. Urho’s weekend in Finland!”
