Happy St. Urho's Day - Celebrate in Purple & Green!

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the celebration of St. Urho's Day, a holiday recognized by some Finns, which occurs on March 16th. Participants share anecdotes, traditions, and humorous takes on the holiday, comparing it to St. Patrick's Day and discussing its cultural significance.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants recount the legend of St. Urho saving the Finnish grape industry from giant grasshoppers, suggesting this narrative contributes to the holiday's uniqueness.
  • There is a comparison made between St. Urho's Day and St. Patrick's Day, with some arguing that St. Urho's Day is more refined due to its association with the color purple instead of green.
  • Participants express humor regarding the bravery of Finns in relation to the grasshoppers, with some joking about their ability to confront other pests like spiders.
  • One participant humorously suggests that the legend of the grasshoppers may grow over time, leading to exaggerated tales of their size.
  • Expressions of excitement about the holiday and its traditions, including drinking and wearing purple, are shared among participants.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the celebratory nature of St. Urho's Day and its humorous aspects, but there are varying interpretations of the significance of the holiday and its comparison to St. Patrick's Day. The discussion remains light-hearted and exploratory without a clear consensus on any specific point.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes playful exaggerations and cultural references that may not be universally understood, reflecting personal interpretations of the holiday's significance.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in cultural celebrations, folklore, or humorous takes on holiday traditions may find this discussion engaging.

Janus
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I know that I'm a day early, but I've been having some computer problems lately and I'm not sure that I'll be able to get this posted tomorrow.

As you may (or may not) know, St. Urho is the patron Saint of the Finns (I'll ignore that nasty little man in the back who is pointing out that 99% of Finns are Lutheran).

As the Story goes, St. Urho singlehandedly saved the Finnish grape industry by driving out a plague of giant grasshoppers.

We celebrate this event on March 16th. (which already gives it precedence over that other St.'s day, as it occurs first.)

Another difference is that while St. Patrick's day is mainly celebrated by wearing green and drinking oneself into into a stupor, St. Urho's day is celebrated by wearing purple and drinking oneself into a stupor. So as you can plainly see, St. Urho's day is a much classier holiday.

With that I'd like to leave you with the Traditional St. Urho's day poem:

Ooksie kooksie kollme vee
Santia Urho is the boy for me
He chase out the hopper as big as pirds
Never before have I heard those words

He really told those bugs of green
Bravest Finn I ever seen
Some celebrate for St. Pat and his snake
But that Urho boy got what it takes

He got tall and strong on feelia sour
And ate Kalla Mojakkaa every hour
Thats why that guy dould chase those beetles
That crew as thick as jack pine needles

So let's give a cheer
in our very best way
On the sixteenth of March
St. Urho's Day!
 
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Janus said:
I know that I'm a day early, but I've been having some computer problems lately and I'm not sure that I'll be able to get this posted tomorrow.

As you may (or may not) know, St. Urho is the patron Saint of the Finns (I'll ignore that nasty little man in the back who is pointing out that 99% of Finns are Lutheran).

As the Story goes, St. Urho singlehandedly saved the Finnish grape industry by driving out a plague of giant grasshoppers.

We celebrate this event on March 16th. (which already gives it precedence over that other St.'s day, as it occurs first.)
Woohoo! The wearin' o' the purple! (the color of royalty by the way).
 
Last edited:
juoda moni ja nauraa !
{drink much and laugh}
 
Janus said:
As the Story goes, St. Urho singlehandedly saved the Finnish grape industry by driving out a plague of giant grasshoppers.

We celebrate this event on March 16th. (which already gives it precedence over that other St.'s day, as it occurs first.)

Seems if you drove out some sort of pest or another back in the day, it was pretty easy to make it to sainthood, wasn't it? I wonder if anyone has informed the Terminix guy about this? :smile:

Another difference is that while St. Patrick's day is mainly celebrated by wearing green and drinking oneself into into a stupor, St. Urho's day is celebrated by wearing purple and drinking oneself into a stupor. So as you can plainly see, St. Urho's day is a much classier holiday.

Ooooh, I much prefer purple[/color]. Though both green and purple look good on me. I think I shall wear purple tomorrow (should I wear a big red hat too? :biggrin:)
 
Bravest Finn I ever seen

Boy, us Finns are really brave. You won't find any of those grasshoppers around here. I'll kick their little butts! :mad:
 
Ivan Seeking said:
Boy, us Finns are really brave. You won't find any of those grasshoppers around here. I'll kick their little butts! :mad:

Want to take a crack at some spiders next? :biggrin:
 
Thanks & YYEEESS ... knew had some subliminal genetically encoded reason to get wasted today ! There really aren't that many grasshoppers around here ... glad to finally discover the scientific explanation for this larger than life puzzle.
 
Ivan Seeking said:
Boy, us Finns are really brave. You won't find any of those grasshoppers around here. I'll kick their little butts! :mad:

Well, they were "as big as pirds(birds)".
 
Janus said:
Well, they were "as big as pirds(birds)".

LOL! A few more generations of telling the story and they'll be big as cats, and then as big as the fish I caught, which also gets bigger every year. :biggrin:

Happy St. Urho' Day! (Any other saints we should know about this week? If we line up enough of them, we can keep drinking through the weekend.)