Monday, March 18, 2013

St. Urho's Day: A Bit of Minnesota Fun

Guess what I did?!

I spent Saturday enjoying the perfect "me, too" holiday that celebrates the actions of a made-up saint.  Life totally doesn't get any better than this.

Sweet!!!

What am I talking about?

St. Urho's Day, of course!

St. Urho's day celebrates a saint by the name of Urho (which means 'brave'), of course... He once chased all of the grasshoppers out of Finland, thereby saving the year's grape crops.



The result?



Plenty of wine to celebrate this event, of course!

The regional holiday, celebrated in a few Finnish communities within the Unites States and Canada, was created in the 1950s.  There are two different people credited with its creation (Evidently, a little too much wine was imbibed during its inception, therefore creating widespread confusion, right?), but both individuals resided somewhere in Minnesota, so we'll just leave it at that.

Celebratory colors are green and purple.  The more green and purple you wear, the better!  There are parades, food, games, and, of course, wine!

So, where did I celebrate this fun holiday?

Why, in Finland, of course!

Finland, Minnesota, that is.

And those Finlanders sure know how to have a great parade!

"Ye Old Chapel of Hooterdom" float: purple building with a green door, plumes of smoke rising from it.

Old wagon float with wooden wheels, guys in period furs, one with a helmet

Dragon head with open mouth atop a black truck




But, out of curiosity... what's with all the dragon floats?

"If you can't take the heat, don't tickle the dragon" on a green sign that hangs beside a gray dragon.





No comments:

Post a Comment