Chicago loves their shamrocks on St Patrick's Day
Posted by John Muir on Thu, Mar 17, 2011 @ 08:46 AM
Shamrocks are one of the popular symbols of St. Patrick's Day; a holiday that started out as a celebration of Saint Patrick and has evolved into a secular celebration of Irish culture. Chicago takes its St. Patrick's Day celebrations very seriously. The parade has been running since 1843, one of the longest in the USA.
Chicago has a very unique way of celebrating by dyeing its river green. This has been done since 1962 when sewer workers used green dye to check for sewer discharges and had the idea to turn the river green 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. However, the river does have a green tint to it year round. Watch the video below as the Chicago River becomes as green as a shamrock:
Thanks to themagicsheep for the video.