The Truth About The Made Up American Holiday, St. Urho's Day

Finns themselves are known for some creative, funny, and unusual events. For example, every year the town of Sonkajarvi hosts a Wife-Carrying Contest.Reuters reported on the 2019 race, where first prize winners take home the wife's weight in beer. So likewise, Minnesota Finns take everything just a little over the top when celebrating St. Urho.

Finns themselves are known for some creative, funny, and unusual events. For example, every year the town of Sonkajarvi hosts a Wife-Carrying Contest. Reuters reported on the 2019 race, where first prize winners take home the wife's weight in beer. So likewise, Minnesota Finns take everything just a little over the top when celebrating St. Urho. Along with the standard celebratory events like street fairs and food stalls, you can join a St. Urho lookalike contest, bar stool races, human foosball contests, Viking bowling, and other silliness, notes the Park Rapids Enterprise. You can look up St. Urho's events at St. Urho's Day.

The Duluth News Tribune reported that the town of Finland, Minnesota in 2012 started a Green and Purple Party, and held a national convention on St. Urho's Day to elect an honorary mayor for the event. In the party rules, they noted, "Votes by grasshoppers will not be counted," and offered "Family planning for moose," and free beer on Sundays and Mondays as part of their party platform.

And Minnesota Finns take St. Urho seriously. Along with the multitudes of celebrations that take place each year, in 1975, then Minnesota Governor Wendell Anderson declared Minnesota to be the official home of St. Urho (via St. Urho).

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