Happy Saint Urho’s Day! Who’s that, you ask? Why, St. Urho is the Finnish version of St. Patrick. But instead of snakes, Urho chased the frogs and or grasshoppers from Finland with his loud, commanding voice. It also provides an excellent excuse for Finns, or those who are feeling a bit Finnish, to start drinking green beer a day early. If all this sounds made up, that’s because it is. The saint and the holiday were invented by Finnish-American Richard Mattson in 1956. Tired of being hassled by an Irish pal about Finland not having a saint worth drinking about, Richard decided to create one from whole cloth. It’s largely celebrated in Finnish communities in the United States and Canada, but if you want to jump on board, well, who’s going to stop you?
