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All it took was a weird beer can with a goofy poem on the back, and a party tradition was born. It must have been in the winter of 1981-82 that I first discovered St. Urho. A group of friends decided to go on a road trip to a place called the Brickskeller in Washington, DC. There were six of us: four guys and two gals. Apparently this place had been a favorite hangout of the guys when they were in college together. It was famous for its beer menu; the place claimed to have at least one beer from every country in the world that brews beer, and had over 300 beers on the menu. Fascinated by the names of some of the brews, we carefully perused the list, looking for JUST the right libation. Having spent all 12 of my elementary- and high-school years in Catholic schools, I couldn't believe that I had never heard of "St. Urho" when I saw that name on the list of American brands. Curious, I decided to order one and find out who this fellow was. The can was black; on the front was a sketch of a burly, bearded, buckskin-clad chap with a rake over his shoulder, standing next to a sack. On the end of the rake was impaled a grasshopper; the sack overflowed with insect carcasses. The colors of the figure were a hoppery green and a nasty purply-fuschia. I turned the can around and all was explained, in the Ode to St. Urho: Ooksie Kooksie coolama veeBeing the party animal I was back in those days, I had a flash of inspiration. What a great idea for a party! March 16th - the day before St. Patrick's Day - I mean, anyone can have a St. Pat's Party, but a St. Urho's Party - now there's an original idea! I set to work planning the affair. A friend with artistic ability made a copy of the sketch of St. Urho from the can. I made up an invitation that had the sketch on the front and the Ode printed on the inside, and sent it out to everyone I knew. I told folks to invite their friends. I even rearranged my furniture and rolled up the carpet.  Denny, the Cricket Man, and Bill.
Well, that first party was the best party. Just about everyone I knew was there, and a lot of folks I didn't. My friend Denny (who was the driver on the trip to Brickskeller, and one of the "discoverers" of St. Urho), had apparently been inviting everyone he encountered in the weeks before the event. All evening, I'd open the door to greetings of "Hi, I'm So-and-So, I'm a friend of Denny's." Then they would hand me a case of beer and breeze past me into the party. It was great! I ended up with so much beer I had to give six-packs away as people left. Denny showed up with a gift for me - a brown paper bag full of live crickets. Seems he couldn't get grasshoppers, so he brought the next best thing. (Animal activists, don't worry - I set them all free!)
Art, the Official ReaderAt some point during the evening, our first party tradition came into being - the ceremonial reading of the poem. Art, another of the original Brickskeller Six, was nominated to perform the reading. Art is a close pal of Denny's; Denny usually drives Art to parties. Consequently, Art doesn't have to concern himself with how much he indulges, and usually he gets, shall we say, tipsy? Well, by the time we got Art up to read, he'd had a few, and the effect on his interpretation of the "Finnglish" in which the poem was written was a scream! I don't think I've ever laughed harder. There were folks doubled over, holding their sides, tears streaming down their faces. What a night!  Jim looking rather fetching in that earring.
Somewhere along the way other traditions were born. Despite the fact that the "official" colors of St, Urho are royal purple and nile green (see Legend), the color on the beer can was more fuschia; consequently, we started wearing pink and green for the parties. I would decorate my apartment with pink and green streamers and balloons, and serve pink and green foods. One year I mounted a commemorative rake on the wall of my living room. People would show up with St. Urho-related items: my friend Beth found a book called "Of Finnish Ways" that detailed the origin of the legend, and brought me a copy of the pages, which included some recipes for the foods mentioned in the Ode (see Recipes). She also brought me grasshopper stickers that year. Another friend brought me a hearth cricket. (OK, it wasn't a grasshopper, but Denny did set the cricket precedent that first year.) I found earrings that had pink and green balloons hanging from them: my friend Jim donned one at one party, and walked around showing off the rest of the night. I tied my hair back with pink and green ribbons, painted my nails pink and green...well, I think you get the idea. Never let it be said that I let a chance to go to excess pass me by!
St Urho Sluts
Since that first party, it's been a "quasi-annual" affair. Some years there has been no party (usually the years I was unemployed!). Other years, the party has been held at the wrong time of year - no matter. One year I was living in Chicago, so my friend Kathy decided that she would have the gathering during the Christmas holidays, while I was home for a visit. Next to the first party, that one is most memorable, primarily because of the "St. Urho Bustiers." Kathy is a very talented artist and designer; she got the idea to turn long-line bras into pink and green bustiers for four of us. They were all spectacular: one had tassels, one gemstones, one beads. They were all too tight (which wasn't Kathy's fault, the bras were badly made), and none of us could breathe, but we looked great!
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 Visit the Grand Tetons - They're Closer Than You Think! Ok, I couldn't resist captioning this photo! Bet you'll never guess who took this picture of Andree's amazing gravity-defying chest? That's right, same breast-obsessed sleazy boyfriend! |
These bustiers were extremely ill-fitting. Although tight enough to strangle, the cups were waaaay too big (except for Kate). Here Kathy is caught adjusting some "slippage." Kate seems to think this photo is highly amusing and insisted that we include this here. Kathy is only mildly amused. Photo courtesy of one of Andree's sleazy ex-boyfriends who went around taking pictures of breasts all night. 
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The last party was a couple of years ago. I had it on a Sunday afternoon in May, so that my out-of-town friends could make it. Almost everyone I invited showed up, and several of my friends stayed overnight. The day was filled with non-stop laugter - as people arrived, they would comment that they could hear us guffawing all the way out in the parking lot. We observed all of the past traditions: I decorated with pink and green, everyone wore pink and green, we ate pink and green foods, and of course, there was the ceremonial reading of the poem. This year I've decided to go all-out, which is how this web-site was born. I've been doing research, and collecting St. Urho-related items. I found a place in Texas that had coffee mugs; I ordered the last two. I plan to keep one and give the other as a door prize. I also got 10 copies of "The History of St. Urho," which was published by the Review-Messenger of Menahga and Sebeka, Minnesota. Those will go to the first 10 revelers who show up for this year's bash. And I ordered a book called Finnfun, which features a photo of the author on the cover, standing next to the totem statue of St. Urho in Finland, Minnesota.
I think this year's celebration may be the best ever. I've enjoyed doing the research and putting this site together, with the help of my talented friend Kathy (who is responsible for the layout of this site.) I hope that this has inspired you to celebrate this fabulous Finnish holiday in your own "pest vay!" |
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Contents | St. Urho's Day | Mmmm...Chocolate! Recycle | Eve's Story | Etc. Critic's Corner | My $1.59 Worth | Point Of View Past Issues | E-Mail Me All information © 1998-99 by theWebGoddess. No portion of this site may be copied without permission. | |