Happy St. Urho's Day!

[Otto]

That says a lot about the invention of myths...

wikipedia:

Saint Urho

The legend of St. Urho was the invention of a Finnish-American named
Richard Mattson, who worked at Ketola's Department Store in Virginia,
Minnesota in spring of 1956. Mattson later recounted that he invented
St. Urho when he was questioned by coworker Gene McCavic about the
Finns' lack of a saint like the Irish St. Patrick, whose feat of
casting the snakes out of Ireland is remembered on St. Patrick's
Day.[8]

According to the original "Ode to St. Urho" written by Gene McCavic
and Richard Mattson, St. Urho was supposed to have cast "tose 'Rogs"
(those frogs) out of Finland by the power of his loud voice, which he
obtained by drinking "feelia sour" (sour whole milk) and eating "kala
mojakka" (fish soup).[9]

The original "Ode to St. Urho" identified St. Urho's Day as taking
place on May 24. Later the date was changed to March 16, the day
before St. Patrick's Day. St. Urho's feast is supposed to be
celebrated by wearing the colors Royal Purple and Nile Green. Other
details of the invented legend also changed, apparently under the
influence of Dr. Sulo Havumäki, a psychology professor at Bemidji
State College in Bemidji, Minnesota. The legend now states that St.
Urho drove away grasshoppers (rather than frogs) from Finland using
the incantation "Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen!"
("Grasshopper, grasshopper, go from hence to Hell!"), thus saving the
Finnish grape crops.[10]

The "Ode to St. Urho" has been modified to reflect these changes in
the feast day and legend. The Ode is written in a self-parodying form
of English as spoken by Finnish immigrants.[11] There is also a
"Ballad of St. Urho" written by Sally Karttunen.[12]

The selection of the name Urho as the saint's name was probably
influenced by the accession of Urho Kekkonen to the presidency of
Finland in 1956. Urho in the Finnish language also has the meaning of
hero or simply brave.

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.[13] The original statue of
St. Urho is located in Menahga, Minnesota. Another interesting
chainsaw-carved St. Urho statue is located in Finland, Minnesota.
There is a beer restaurant called St. Urho's Pub in central Helsinki,
Finland. 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.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_mythology

2009/3/16 Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com>:
> http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11468
>
> http://www.theminx.com/iss3vol2/sturho.htm
>
> http://www.sainturho.com/index.htm
>