My spring break ended last weekend. On Friday, after my practicum, we went to one of my colleague’s place. On our way we bought some tortilla chips, salsa, and a bottle of sweet white wine. Afterwards, she prepared a delicious Mexican dish of chile, corn and cheese flautas for the dinner. It is a wonderful vegetarian dish that I surely hope to enjoy again!
After the Friday night gathering, I had a hard time getting up next day. But, when I got up and looked outside my window, I was astounded by the weather. The city was sun poking through the clouds made everything look like it was glistening from the rain that had fallen the previous. After I got dressed, Naomi and I had some Hot Masala Chai (Indian Tea) and breakfast and set out to explore Chicago for St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Usually St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, but the parade was held on the 13th since it was the weekend closest to St. Patrick’s Day.
St. Patrick’s Day is named after the most commonly recognized patron saints of Ireland. It became an official feast day in the early 1600s. It is widely celebrated in places where there are large numbers of Irish immigrants like: Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and Montserrat, among others.
The parade began at noon. All of Chicago was out on that day. There were hordes of people around the Michigan Avenue, where the parade took place. Everybody was wearing green; some were in green hats, some in green beads, while some were dressed entirely in green clothes, including green shoes. I was very curious to know about the association of the green colour with the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, so I gathered some information about it.
Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day. St. Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish. Hence, wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs has become a ubiquitous feature of the day. People say that in 1798 in hopes of making a political statement Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on 17 March with the phrase "the wearing of the green", meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing.
In addition to all the green clothing, the city of Chicago dyes its river green as well, and has done so since 1962 for Saint Patrick's Day. Originally 100 pounds of vegetable dye was used to turn the river green for a whole week but now only forty pounds of dye is used and the color only lasts for several hours.
Taking part in the St. Patrick’s Day festivities this past week reminded me how enjoyable it is living in Chicago. I love everything about this place--the spirit of its people, it’s many cultural celebrations, the climate and array of food. What a great way to end my spring break!
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