St. Urho's Day

Are you wearing purple today?

While most people, even those who aren't Irish, wear green and drink green beer on St. Patrick's Day every March 17, many people in the Finnish community celebrate St. Urho's Day on March 16.

Some fun facts for those of you who aren't Finnish - legend has it that St. Urho drove an invasion of grasshoppers out of Finland many years ago, and ultimately saved their grape crops which were used to produce wine. People who dispute this myth say that really, the Finns were just looking for an exuse to start drinking beer a day earlier than all their Irish friends :-)

While St. Urho may be a mythical hero, many Finns wear purple on St. Urho's Day to commemorate him.

So if you see someone wearing purple today, ask if they're Finnish!