Uncovering the origins of St. Urho’s Day and the role a Bemidji State professor played in bringing it to life

While green beer is being stocked and participants prepare for the shortest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world — from one Bemidji pub to another on Beltrami Avenue — some are wearing purple with their green and getting a jump on the festival by celebrating St. Urho’s Day on March 16.

If you’ve never heard of St. Urho, you might be lacking in friends of Finnish descent who embrace this fictitious patron saint of their ancestry — the man who, as legend has it, drove the pernicious grapevine-eating grasshoppers of Finland out of the country and saved the grapes (and eventual wine) by chanting a Finnish command: “Heinasirkka, Heinasirkka, mene taalta hiiteen!” which translates to “Grasshopper, grasshopper, go away!” or “Go to hell,” depending on whose translation one uses.

Even those who embrace the day might not be aware of the significant part that a Bemidji State psychology professor played in its origin. The man was Sulo Havumaki. He came to Bemidji State in 1956 and brought with him an idea to preempt the huge celebrations of everyone who claims to be Irish (if only for a day) — the parades, the wearing of green, and, of course, the beer.