Why, on March 17, do I wear the fuzzy shamrock a friend crocheted for me years ago? I am not Irish. I have never lived in a predominantly Irish community. Nevertheless, I love leprechauns, shamrocks, rainbows ending in pots of gold, and listening to Irish brogues. So when my friend John returned from a trip abroad with an Irish wife, I was ecstatic.
Alas, this Irish woman shattered my stereotypes. While she does speak with a thick Irish accent, she cares not one whit about St. Pat or leprechauns or rainbows potted in gold caldrons.
So I moved on to celebrating my own culture’s mythologies.
On March 16, Finnish people all over the world (or maybe just in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin) celebrate St. Urho’s Day. That’s the day when, somewhere back in the mists of time, the sainted Urho drove the hordes of grasshoppers from Finland, thereby saving the country’s grape harvest and, therefore, its inhabitants from certain starvation … or thirst.
Admittedly, there are iconoclasts who will insist that Finland has never, in the mists (or any other point) of time, sustained its economy via massive grape growing. They might even insist that the country’s grasshoppers have never been eradicated, not by Urho or any other saint. However, I will not, unlike my Irish friend, abandon my traditions because of such Fake News.
The photo accompanying this column was taken by my daughter when she and I were in Finland, a country, which, I regret to say, neither knows of nor celebrates St. Urho’s Day. Go figure.
On the day this photo was taken, we were visiting a school museum, which houses remnants of Sweden’s 700 year occupation of Finland (and lingering influence), such as primary school books in Swedish. Historically, Swedish was the language of nobles, academics and government and is still today an official language of Finland. Europeans are not intimidated by other languages being spoken within their borders.
Another museum we visited was Vakoilumuseo, the world’s first Spy Museum. Why would the world’s premier spy museum be situated in Finland? Grab a map, find Finland, look to the east and you will see Russia, which occupied Finland from 1809 until Finland won its independence in 1917. (Note: The country was a tad smaller when Russia gave it back.)
The museum was fascinating. Much of it displays spy tools reminiscent of the old “Get Smart” TV show, although every item, including one of the original Enigma machines (see movie: “The Imitation Game”), is an artifact once used by a spy agency. Visitors can even hone their skills in code-breaking and lock-picking. Understanding the devious nature of the neighbor just over their eastern border, Finland values the tools necessary to keep that neighbor at bay.
While I’m disheartened that there are no St. Urho’s Day celebrations in Finland, I’m relieved my shirttail cousins are there, monitoring the Kremlin and its current czar, especially since others seem to have lost interest in the task.