Saint Patrick’s Day

                Hello everyone and welcome to my third and final podcast. In the past we spoke about Civil War which occurred in my hometown Tajikistan, and then we touch based the history of our wonderful city Chicago. Today I would like to talk about Saint Patrick’s Day. First I would like to give brief information about its origin and history and then I will tell how we celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day in Chicago.

                Let talk about who is St. Patrick?

                Born to a Christian father in Britain during the 4^th century, St. Patrick was kidnapped by Irish raiders and enslaved when he was teenager. Although he was able to escape after six years and later become a priest in Britain. Then he chose to return to Ireland as a missionary in order to help spread the teaching of Christianity to pagans. According to Irish folklore, he also used a shamrock to explain the Christian concept of Trinity to Irish. He would face a constant opposition from pagan leaders but he had never given up on his idea of teaching people Christianity. He continued to evangelize for 40 years and established monasteries, churches, and schools. He passed away around March 17 461. According to some tradition he was buried at Downpatrick. There were other successful missionaries to Ireland from Rome and other places. At the first the color which was associated with Saint Patrick was blue, but throughout the time it changed to green. Starting from 17^th century, Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn during the celebration. The color green became so famous that during the 1700 political uprising, Irish soldiers wore green uniform to attract public attention.

                Fast forward to 21 century, Saint Patrick’s Day became so famous that it is celebrated across the entire Globe. I came across an article that people in Australia, Russia, almost the entire Europe, and the United celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day and march parades. Chicago is the major city in the United States, which celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day and it celebrates it very religiously. It’s almost home to Saint Patrick’s celebration. There are many thing go during that day. First the city officials dye the river of Chicago green between Columbus and Wacker drive. The dyeing of the river has been a tradition for much generation and attracts thousands of people from across the States and Globe. Then there is a parade. This parade is packed with all things Irish, such as green flags, booming marching bands and bagpipers, green shirts or t-shirts with shamrock on them. What’s interests me the most, that people don’t bother if the weather is cold or warm, rainy or sunny, they still march parade with thousands of numbers. I came across through some report that over 400,000 people attended Saint Patrick’s parade last year.

                My personal opinion about Saint Patrick’s Day is that it doesn’t care what color a person skin is or what race does he belong to or what country he comes from - that day everyone is Irish and ware green.

Thanks for your time. This is Khursand M and this was my podcast for today.