“Painting” Chicago Green For St. Patrick’s Day!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all!
Last Saturday, Chicago once again “painted” the Chicago River green and it’s a wild celebration that continues today!
St. Patricks’ Day is also a day of reflection and here’s why!
Of course, today is the day to drink green beer, eat corn beaf and cabbage, and celebrate the “Luck o’ The Irish!”
But it’s much more. As History.com reports:
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated annually on March 17, the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. On St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast–on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.
That means only one thing in The Windy City:
Painting The Chicago River Green!
After a cancellation in 2020 due to the pandemic, this annual tradition is back – and more colorful than ever!
It’s a St. Patrick’s Day tradition: the city of Chicago dyes their river green, as thousands of fans arrive to celebrate the big day!
Yes, you will see lots of green apparel as well as beverages as the town goes wild for the Irish!
The city of Chicago began the “painting” of the river green in 1962.
As wikipedia reports, the inspiration for the stunt came from pollution-control workers, who used various chemical dyes to trace illegal sewage discharges. Yep, they got the idea while looking for “sewage discharge!”
That first year, the city dumped 100 pounds of dye into the river, which left it green for an entire week!
Officials say they now use less than 25 pounds of dye, and it’s vegetable-based, so safe to everything in the water!
Here is a look at how they “paint” the river:
After they spray the river, smaller boats stir it all in…the entire ceremony takes a half hour, then it’s on to the next celebration – a parade – followed by a day long celebration that lasts well into the night…
As you can see, the river continues to be a place for tour boats and kayakers, all sharing the now green water and the city celebrates the holiday!
Chicago has so many great traditions, and a rich history as well:
Chicago’s iconic Tribune building is actually studded with pieces of history from around the world!
Click here for a close up look:
Of course, if you were in Chicago right now, all of this fun would make you hungry – well, I’ve got just the thing:
Yes, it’s a fried bologna sandwich – and it has been named the best sandwich in America several times!
Click here to see Au Cheval’s wildly popular and delicious Fried Bologna Sandwich – that I ate!
If you fall in love with tChicago – and want to buy a place, why not make it Al Capone’s former house?
That’s right, the Mobster lived here and it was for sale a while back – click for details on the house – including the story behind the secret passage inside!
There are so many things to love about Chicago – like the incredible Lakeshore Drive along Lake Michigan:
I looked at the city through six of my favorite photos, which you can see by clicking here:
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Happy St. Patricks Day to everyone!
Categories: Art, chicago, Exotic Travel, Food, Memoirs, Pop Culture, Real Estate, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir
johnrieber 
I love the green river and I’m happy to know the dye is eco-friendly. Do people take the day off work to join in? SPD is not a public holiday is it?
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Robbie, it’s not a public holiday but the river is always painted the Saturday before so it’s green all week – and in Chicago especially, people DO see it as a national holiday and take the day off work to party – it begins before 8a – literally Irish bars are packed by then
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I thought it wasn’t a national holiday. It is great that people take time off to enjoy this celebration.
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How fascinating! Thanks John for your interesting blog.
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Fabulous post, John. I love Chicago’s green river and the history behind it. Thank you for posting about the Tribune building’s studded history. That is important! Happy St. Patrick’s Day !
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I was there once in this day and it was so fun ☘️
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That’s amazing. Thank you for sharing, John! Happy St. Patrick’s Day. 🍀
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Happy day to you as well! Cheers!
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I have successfully managed to avoid anything SPD-related today, John. It was bad enough in London, but up here in Beetley it’s almost like it doesn’t exist. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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