Saint Patrick’s Day in Chicago by Benjamin Ergas

15 March 2004. Whether that green rabbit next to me in the train is heavily sedated or not, God knows, but its proud owner sure is hyped, dressed up with green shirt and scarf, green hat and sunglasses. She is one of thousands of Irish descents converging today in Chicago's South Side to honour their Patron Saint. Some have dyed their hair, painted their faces and tattooed shamrocks on their arms, others have sprayed their pets. It is quite a sight!

The Irish Parade, on South Western Avenue between 103rd and 115th streets, is one of Chicago's annual cultural events. A family affair that attracts the O'Haras and Callahans, Sheahans and O'Malleys of this world. They come to celebrate their heritage with giant shamrocks, leprechauns and marching bagpipers! Generations of Irish families walk in the parade with their own banners, along with a whole stream of associations, from the Irish Fellowship Club to the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance, from the O'Sullivan Running Club to the Association of Irish Lawyers! A palpable sense of belonging and cultural pride. No, Irish descents have never given up their allegiance to Ireland!

Saint Patrick's ability to unleash such a degree of excitement and enthusiasm amongst his followers is unmatched, and would have made Saint Andrew (Scotland) and Saint George (England) very jealous - at least to the extent Saints can be. Arguably, in the universe of Christian Saints, Saint Patrick would rank in the top seven most recognizable names with Peter, Paul, John the Baptist, Francis of Assisi, Thomas of Aquinas, and Valentine (well, at least on my list)… and rank first in terms of secular veneration.

Now, to be precise with history, Saint Patrick was actually British, not Irish. And his color was blue, not green. Born in Roman England in the fifth century, Patrick was a missionary who traveled to Ireland to convert the pagans to Christianity. He is believed to have died on March 17th, 461AD. The color blue can actually still be found on ancient Irish flags and on uniforms of the Irish Special Forces. It is not clear how it faded away, but some say the confusion with the green color is due to the phrase "wearing of the green," which means to wear a shamrock. Saint Patrick is known as preaching, shamrock in his hand, to explain the Holy Trinity. Green also works because it depicts the year-round green hills that carpet the island. So in the 19th century, green became the official color of Ireland.

"Everyone feels Irish on Saint Patrick's Day." But that was not always the case. Back in the peak days of Irish immigration, i.e. 1840s-50s, they were profoundly resented by the white locals (first or second generations of English families) and the blacks (who called the Irish "white niggers"). They were not welcomed, and the fact that they were Catholics in a Protestant land did not help their integration. "Gangs of New York" by M. Scorsese reminds you of those bleak days when Irish immigrants were forced to live in cellars and shanties. So today's popular festivities are a reminder that, despite a poor start, the Irish were eventually successful in becoming a vital part of America's social fabric. They also gained influential status. Illustrious Irish Americans include automaker Henry Ford, astronauts John Glenn and Neil Armstrong, actors Marion Morrison (John Wayne) and Maureen O'Hara, and writers Edgar Allen Poe and F. Scott Fitzgerald. In US politics, a fourth of US presidents are of Irish descents, including Kennedy, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, and more indirectly the Bushes.

Chicago's top job has actually been in the hands of one prominent Irish family for the last four decades. The Daleys have been Mayors of the windy city since the late 1950s. And in mid-March, their Irish footprint can be found everywhere: just look up for instance at the green lights crowning Chicago's tallest towers, the Sears and the John Hancock! But the ultimate signature is the temporary coloring of the Chicago River. It is a 43-year old tradition that attracts thousands of sympathetic onlookers. Could there be a stronger physical testimony of affection and commitment to Ireland than dying the main river in a perfect deep Irish green? As the saying goes, "The Chicago River will dye the Illinois, which will dye the Mississippi, which will dye the Gulf of Mexico, which will send green dye up the gulf stream across the North Atlantic into the Irish Sea, a sea of green surrounding the land will appear as a greeting to all Irishmen of the Emerald Isle from the men of Chicagoland, USA."