| Event or Tradition | Description | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Residents of St Olaf | From farm country where people are rough and rugged and never see doctors. | GG S07/E23 |
| 4-H | 4-H is a youth development program that provides hands-on learning opportunities in a wide range of areas, including agriculture, science, technology, and leadership. | GG S03/E21 |
| 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Founding of the Town | Gunter Lindstrom was chosen to pull the float because he was the only one small enough to fit into the mayonnaise jar costume. As he turned off of Sycamore onto Elm, they knew something must have happened to the tractor, because there he was, this lone little mayonnaise jar dragging this giant tuna up the hill, past the reviewing stand. | GG S01/E24 |
| A Christmas Carol | St. Olaf Community Playhouse tried and failed to launch a production of A Christmas Carol featuring an all-chicken cast. | GG S02/E11 |
| Acts of Swine | An example of this is when Rose’s red wagon was trampled by some hogs. | GG S01/E14 |
| Animals in St. Olaf coexist | For example, the brown bear and the field mouse sharing lives in harmony, though they can’t mate because the mice would explode. | GG S06/E24 |
| Animals sleep inside | A custom where animals are brought inside on Christmas night. The next morning, however, the rumors start. | GG S05/E12 |
| Annual Baby Weight Guessing Contest | Contest where townsfolk guess baby weights. | GG S02/E26 |
| Annual Lie Day | The day when all the children who lied throughout the year are gathered in the town square, and the mayor publicly pointed at them to teach a lesson about honesty. | GG S05/E11 |
| Annual Talent Show | Featuring unique performances such as a herring juggling act. | GG S04/E14 |
| Arranged Marriages | Arranged marriages are a tradition in St. Olaf that was still around in the 1980’s. | GG S03/E09 |
| Autumn in St. Olaf | A traumatic story tied to falling leaves with a surprising ending, “Splat”. | GG S05/E24 |
| Better Ned than Red | St. Olaf Town Motto. | GG S05/E21 |
| Bicentennial Day | A special day for livestock who receive chauffeur-driven limousine rides to fancy four-star restaurants and the symphony. | GG S06/E23 |
| Big Statue Country | The slogan they put on their license plates, emphasizing the town’s pride in its statues. | GG S06/E03 |
| Boys’ Choir | The boys’ choir would use air-filled balloons to create disgusting noises leading to changes in wedding traditions. | GG S05/E23 |
| Broken Hip Capital of the Midwest | Due to the town’s enthusiatic elevation of their elderly, often shown by placing them on acual pedistals, there are quite a few falls resulting in broken hips. | GG S06/E18 |
| Bull Castration Club | There is no sound in this world sweeter than a bull’s moo as it climbs an octave. | GG S04/E19 |
| Butter Queen | Butter Queen is St. Olaf’s highest honor. | GG S02/E02 |
| Career Day | Gunther Hanchap, the leading shepherd and notary, spoke at career day about his solitary life with sheep. | GG S07/E22 |
| Cast-Iron Brassiere | Drink eggnog while wearing a cast-iron brassiere is part of an Easter tradition and is not part of Christmas celebrations. | GG S02/E11 |
| Christmas Pageant | A tradition with shepherds, angels, and only two wise men. | GG S05/E12 |
| Come in out of the rain | A bit of wisdom Rose shared after a visit to St. Gustav. | GG S05/E21 |
| Contentment Isn’t Just for Cows | St. Olaf wedding tradition – The groom in black and the bride in white, classic Holstein colors. After the kiss, the bride and groom will head back up the aisle while the bridesmaids moo. | GP E13 |
| Cottage Cheese Pageant | Small Curd Cottage Cheese Queen is the town’s second higest honor after Large Curd Cottage Cheese Queen. | GG S03/E06 |
| Cow Laws | In St. Olaf, the most expensive room was $18.50, and that includes the cow, because having a cow in the room is the law. | GG S05/E11 |
| Cows voting | Cows have the right to vote. | GG S07/E24 |
| Crapola in a box | A typical phrase Rose uses to describe the contents of her yard sale boxes. | GG S06/E03 |
| Day of the Wheat | A festival where everyone dresses as sandwiches. Rose and Charlie forgot to put cheese between them, leading to the conception of their child, Kirsten. | GG S05/E03 |
| Deep-Root Vegetable Carnival | A festival that includes activities like eating candied turnips, guessing sweet potatoes in a jar, and bobbing for yams. | GG S02/E16 |
| Department of Water and Coffee | They address topics like water shortages due to draughts and will send out communication to current and former residents asking for people to engage in abstinence until it rains. | GG S06/E10 |
| Depression Coal Carving | During the Depression, people would get and carve coal, even into something like “a pair of high-top Keds.” | GG S03/E04 |
| Dinosaur Bones | Dinosaur bones were discovered just outside St. Olaf when Karl Nickerson’s German shepherd was burying a herring bone. | GG S03/E12 |
| Divorce laws | St. Olaf has stringent divorce laws, the wife gets to keep everything that doesn’t ferment. | GG S05/E18 |
| Edelweiss and Jarlsberg Choral Festival | Annual festival. | GG S02/E21 |
| Emergency Statue Fund | A $500,000 fund that can’t be touched unless it’s a real statue emergency. | GG S06/E03 |
| Encyclopedia salesmen | Would carry 52 encyclopedias, 26 in each hand for balance instead of splitting the set of 26 into 13 per hand. | GG S05/E18 |
| Everybody Hide the Corn Day | A day that you are not likely to get a hold of anybody in town. | GG S06/E03 |
| Festival of the Dancing Sturgeons | Every year, during the Festival of the Dancing Sturgeons people go down to the lake and watch the sturgeons flopping around on the dock. | GG S06/E20 |
| Founders’ Day Fair | The governor was going to stop at the fair one year, but the welcome sign had not been erected yet, leading the governor to pass through St. Olaf without realizing it. | GG S04/E02 |
| Four-County Toboggan Race | St. Olaf was one of the four counties participating. | GG S02/E21 |
| Genochtenlochen | A family tradition where the oldest niece gives the eulogy. | GG S03/E05 |
| Gowhackanoggin | A game similar to baseball, but instead of hitting a ball, players whack themselves on the head. After ten whacks, if the player is still standing, they take first base. It’s a low-scoring game. | GG S04/E05 |
| Gügenspritzer | It is like Monopoly, only it uses St. Olaf geography. The cashbox is empty because the St. Olaf Bank was one of the first savings and loans to go under. One of the game cards gives the opportunity to either buy the library or the phone booth in the center of town. Logenbeuton Avenue is the only street in the game. If you get Logenbeuton Ave, it allows the street owner to tear down the phone booth, and you win. | GG S04/E20 |
| Hansger Flugenhaben Yodeling Quartet | Disbanded yodeling quartet. | GG S02/E22 |
| Haunting | Sven’s ghost haunts Gunilla every Tuesday night at 10 (nine central). | GG S05/E07 |
| Hay Day | A holiday where the residents celebrate hay. Also the day Rose and Charlie conceived their child, Ginella. | GG S05/E03 |
| Henry Fjord Foundation | Rose helped establish the Henry Fjord Foundation. Henry Fjord dedicated his life to eliminating pond scum from Lake St. Olaf. | GG S02/E16 |
| Herring Circus | Like Sea World, only much, much smaller. But bigger than a flea circus. Cannons are no longer a part of the circus after a herring was shot out of a cannon and ended up in a tree, leading other herring to refuse participation going forward. | GG S01/E25 |
| Herring Juggling Act | An act performed at the Annual Talent Show. The herring juggle tiny Ginsu knives, a dangerous and unique performance. | GG S04/E14 |
| Hey, That’s My Tractor | A play originating from the Community Playhouse, noted for its local fame and humor. | GG S02/E06 |
| High School Fight Song | Rose wrote the fight song for her high school in “Onward, St. Olaf, Onward we go, Onward and onward, St. Olaf’s go, go, go.” | GG S02/E06 |
| High School Valedictorian | Rose’s high school class chose the valedictorian by drawing straws. | GG S03/E05 |
| Homemade Gifts | The tradition of exchanging homemade gifts during Christmas instead of purchasing items. | GG S02/E11 |
| House Calls | The doctor made house calls for the family and the livestock. | GG S01/E05 |
| I Can’t Believe This is Cheese diet | A weight-loss plan where participants eat nothing but rice. | GG S05/E17 |
| I Never Thought I’d Grow a Hair There | An old Minnesotan farm song featuring the lyrics: “Oom pah, pah Oom pah, pah Oom pah, pah. What the hell is that hair? Where Hans first spots the hair. Oom pah, pah Oom pah, pah…” | GG S07/E08 |
| If I Have All the Cheese I Want, Why Am I Still Unhappy? | Written by St. Olaf’s most famous psychotherapists, the Freud brothers, Sigmund and Roy. | GG S07/E06 |
| Junior Butter Queen Pageant | An annual Butter Queen Pageant for young ladies. | GG S02/E02 |
| Junior Prom | The junior prom was exclusively for people named Junior. | GG S06/E22 |
| Kindergarten Promise | Kindergarteners did not pass kindergarten till they promised not to eat paste. | GG S02/E24 |
| Kipper Smoking | Residents would smoke kippers at Christmas to make their homes smell like fish. | GG S05/E12 |
| Little Miss St. Olaf pageant | It seems as though people little and not so little can participate the Little Miss St. Olaf pageant as Rose was able to participate for 23 years in a row. | GG S07/E03 |
| Macaroni & Cheese vs. Cheese & Macaroni | Residents fight over whether it’s “macaroni and cheese” or “cheese and macaroni,”. | GG S07/E24 |
| Magician Burned as a Witch | A magician was burned as a witch after pulling a rabbit out of a hat. | GG S07/E24 |
| Make a Point | Instead of string tied on a finger, they tie piano wire around the neck to make a point. | GG S06/E16 |
| Me-and-My-Pet Look-Alike Contest | Residents will go as far as swim with a duck in their mouth to win. | GG S05/E25 |
| Men don’t chase toothless women | Dr. Sigmund Sturgeon’s solution for reducing promiscuity is pulling out girls front teeth to make them less attractive. | GP E16 |
| Milk Diving Tournament | An event inspired when Cousin Enoch fell into the milk vat. The event was discontinued after spectators were caught dipping Oreo cookies in the winner’s swim trunks. | GG S03/E08 |
| Minnesota State Fair | The Minnesota State Fair began in 1859. Since then, it has grown to become one of the largest and most well-known state fairs in the United States. This is a popular even for the town’s residents. | GG S03/E03 |
| Miss St. Olaf Beauty Pageant | The Miss St. Olaf beauty pageant. It was 1951. That was the first year they let humans enter too. I was way ahead after the evening-gown and log-rolling competition. People don’t realize how hard it is to roll a log when you’re wearing an evening gown. And the shocker is I lost out on the intelligence quiz. They asked me to name the seven dwarves, and I did. But evidently I didn’t name the seven they had in mind. | GG S05/E18 |
| Mountain Rangerette | Mountain Rangerettes get a bullhorn. | GG S07/E01 |
| Newlywed Tradition | It’s tradition to tie dead fish to the back of the wedding car. The couple then drives until the smell becomes unbearable, deciding where to live. | GG S06/E17 |
| Old St. Olaf wake-up call | Rise and shine. Here’s a peck on the face. Give me a smile. Hoist me by the waist. Fill the tub with water. Spank me like your daughter… | GP E09 |
| Omelet on a Bun | In biology class while teaching about WWI, grade school teacher, Mrs. Gunderson, started telling kids mustard gas was something you got from eating too many hot dogs. That’s why to this day, everyone celebrates the 4th of July with a thin omelet on a bun. | GG S03/E04 |
| Otto Club of St. Olaf | A club for people named Otto. | GG S05/E25 |
| Permit to have kids | Couples can get their “permit to have kids” along with their marriage license at the courthouse. | GG S06/E04 |
| Piano Wire Export | Piano wire is the second biggest export of St. Olaf. Not sure what the biggest export is. | GG S06/E16 |
| Pioneer Scouts | They learn skills like building a rope bridge, starting fires with rocks, and distilling seawater. | GG S02/E08 |
| Polka Dancing | They jump up on a table and stand on their hands. | GP E17 |
| Precision Combine Drill Team | High school team. | GG S02/E05 |
| Precision Drill Team | High school team. | GG S07/E23 |
| Pretzel Week | A festival that kicked off by a big dance. | GG S03/E02 |
| Reach for the stars | Many residents have fallen off the roofs of their homes trying to touch the stars in the sky. | GG S04/E04 |
| Revering and Honoring Elders | They not only take care of their elderly but also revere and honor them by literally putting them on pedestals. This tradition often results in broken hips. | GG S06/E18 |
| Rocking Chair Marathon | An annual event where participants compete to stay awake while rocking in chairs. Elsa Yuderruden once stayed awake for 17 days. | GG S03/E08 |
| Rotary Picnics | Rotary Clubs will host picnics for local residents to learn about Rotary and its work. Lucky Gunther was known for handing out corn there. | GG S06/E01 |
| Scandinavian Welcome Gathering | The town would welcome new residents with a traditional Scandinavian welcome by gathering on his front lawn, singing songs and dressing up in bedsheets. This tradition ended after the incident with Old Man Smith. | GG S03/E25 |
| Scandinavian Welcome Gathering – New | After the incident with Old Man Smith, the town council changed their tradition. They began handing out peanut brittle and free movie passes, despite the movie house never having been built. | GG S03/E25 |
| Sonia Klingenhoffer | A popular 16-panel comic strip | GG S03/E20 |
| Sonia Van Kügel Tuba Band | Available for hire during events. | GG S02/E22 |
| St. Olaf fairy tales | Fairy tales that weren’t violent, and they had positive role models. Examples are “Gus and the Recliner”, “Gunilla Gets a Catalog”, and “Ilsa, the Girl Who Could Make Bad Food Good”. | GG S06/E26 |
| St. Olaf Fun Pack | A traditional gift Rose gives as a candy striper, containing gum, soap, and sock puppets. | GG S06/E02 |
| St. Olaf Masquers | A theater troupe that set their production of Hamlet in a barnyard. In it Rose played a hen. | GG S06/E26 |
| St. Olaf Snowball | Looks similar to a snowglobe but is just a container of snow, symbolizing St. Olaf in winter. | GG S05/E12 |
| St. Olaf Time | Local newspaper. Contained an article on how to attract a UFO with a flashlight and a pie pan. | GG S04/E03 |
| St. Olaf Wedding March | Became popular after Laurel and Hardy used it as their theme song. | GG S05/E23 |
| St. Olaf Wedding Tradition | Bride wears horns or a metal brassiere. | GG S07/E20 |
| St. Olaf Woman of the Year | Prestigious award for residents from St. Olaf recognizing individuals for their values of truth, honesty, and community service. | GG S04/E04 |
| St. Olaf’s Family Tree | Everyone in St. Olaf has the same family tree. You can trace each of them back to the same brother and sister. | GG S07/E04 |
| St. Olafians – a Lost Tribe of Israel? | The St. Olafians were one of the original lost tribes of Israel. | GG S07/E04 |
| St. Sigmund’s Day | St. Sigmund’s Day involves a headless boy. | GG S05/E12 |
| Teenage Pledge | When teens are 15, they are forced to sign a pledge to not be wild and crazy and impetuous. It keeps people from “painting their houses silly colors.” | GG S03/E22 |
| The American Journal of Abnormal Psychology | A scientific journal published in St. Olaf, where Rose’s Uncle Gunther served as editor. | GG S06/E07 |
| The Day of the Princess Pig | Adam was conceived on the Day of the Princess Pig when they had the pig crowning. | GG S05/E03 |
| The Last Pancake Breakfast | St. Olaf’s most famous religious painting. | GG S05/E24 |
| The St Olaf Courier Dispatch | A newspaper known for its investigative reporting. | GG S02/E02 |
| Town Barbeques | After the St. Olaf Barbecue Tragedy, involving barbecuing elk, a big fire, and someone losing their balance, people stopped having barbeques. | GG S05/E01 |
| Traditional St. Olaf party games | Not sure what the games are, just that Rose suggests them for Blanche’s birthday. | GG S06/E04 |
| Use a gun, go apologize | St. Olaf justice system motto. | GG S05/E13 |
| Valentine’s Dance | A high school dance. | GG S07/E14 |
| Velkom Vogn | Whenever a new family would move in to St. Olaf, they’d hop on the tractor and go to the neighbors’ farm, carrying vats of smoked fish and big pitchers of freshly-squeezed potato juice while Rose’s Cousin Dat played “Getting To Know You” through the hole in his windpipe. | GG S02/E24 |
| Volunteer Fire Brigade | St. Olaf has volunteer fire brigade. Mr. Hickenlooper participates and is known for using his nose to mimic the sound of a siren. | GG S02/E25 |
| Volunteer Police | Rose’s father was a farmer who became a volunteer policeman on weekends. As crime in St. Olaf mainly revolved around poor oral hygiene practices they mostly sat around the jailhouse and took pictures of each other behind the bars in goofy poses. | GG S02/E24 |
| Watch out for that tractor | A phrase that became popular in St. Olaf after “come in out of the rain” lost its novelty. | GG S05/E21 |
| Watermelon-Seed Spitting Contest | The winner gets a prize piglet. | GG S07/E25 |
| Wedding Shower Game | Everyone wears a blindfold and chooses a partner. Each person thinks of a number, while their partner thinks of an object. The bride tags someone, they call out their number, and switch places with her. The process continues, and the number of switches predicts how many children the bride will have. Numbers must add up, and players collect objects. | GG S06/E16 |
| Wooden Maple Syrup Spigots | A popular craft often given as part of their homemade Christmas gift tradition. | GG S02/E11 |
| Yokel Bus | A local bus where a family of first cousins plays banjo music as passengers get on and off. | GG S03/E25 |
GG – Golden Girls / GP – Golden Palace / EN – Empty Nest / N – Nurses
St. Olafisms / St Olaf Menu / St Olaf People / St Olaf Culture / St Olaf History / St Olaf Geography