Day 76: We don't paint the town Red, We turn the river Green.

     While we've already covered the fact that the most well represented ethnicity in the city of Chicago is unquestionably Polish, there are certainly other ethnicities represented in the city.  One of the more well-known ethnicities(if not for size, then certainly for stature) is that of the Irish-Americans.  In the early years of the 20th Century, the Chicago Cubs were known to have many players of Irish heritage on their rosters.  Additionally, the predominant religion amongst Irish migrants to Chicago was Catholicism.  In fact, the First Archbishop of Chicago, the person who rededicated the new Holy Name Cathedral, was an Irish American.  And in a more well-known recent turn of events, the most recent father-son duo to be mayor(the Daleys), were both Irish Catholics.(One notable exception to the trend: the Harrisons, who were NOT of Irish heritage.)

     However, this entry isn't just about Irish Heritage, it's about St. Patty's Day.  And if the saying is that everyone is Irish on St. Pat's Day, just imagine how Irish things get when you're dealing with a city like Chicago.  I'll just get the most well-known tradition out of the way right here.  The dyeing of the Chicago River.  The whole thing started when some plumbers were trying to detect illegal pollution in the River.  In the course of using a chemical to do so, they inadvertently turned that section of the River green.  Instead of panicking, they got an idea.  They decided to intentionally do this again on St. Patrick's Day, and they've been doing it for over 50 years.  And to this day, the dyeing is sponsored by the local plumber's union.  The tradition even found its way to Washington DC in 2009 when Michelle Obama requested that the fountains outside of the White House be turned green in deference to her hometown.

     You may think we're done here, but no account of St. Patrick's Day in Chicago would be complete without mention of the South Side Irish parade.  The parade has its roots in an affair called the Southtown Parade, which started in the early 1950s.  After Richard J. Daley was elected Mayor, he took the Southtown Parade, moved it downtown, and re-branded it the St. Patrick's Day Parade.  This went on until the 70s, when two residents of the South Side wanted to bring back the family friendly affair that they remembered as kids.  Therefore, on March 17, 1979, the first running of what would come to be known as the South Side Irish Parade occurred.  As the years went on, the parade got more and more popular, until the parade hit its 30th Anniversary year, which was a mighty celebration.  The 2009 parade saw much craziness, and therefore the organizers halted the parade for the next two years.  In 2012, the parade came back as much more family friendly, and the tradition continued in 2013.  Just remember, we're all Irish on St. Patty's Day!