I was born just off of New York’s Fifth Avenue twenty years ago today, where the remnants of the best parade of the year still marked the streets in golden coins and green sparkles… and lots of empty bottles. It’s no wonder I have 4 St. Patrick’s Day shirts, wear green almost every day, joined a green sorority, and get superpsyched for this odd little holiday every year. Though I’m miles away from the parade I was born beside, Chicago has got the most fun saint of all on its mind this week.
Chicago is undoubtedly a top contender for American St. Patty’s Party Cities. The river has been dyed green ever since a group of plumbers decided to do so in 1962 as a part of a much bigger parade and cross-town celebration. This city parties in the streets (and the water), showing us all what true Irish pride is all about.
On campus, students are huddled in the library or already on spring break, so the luck of the Irish isn’t so much in the air. In Allison dining hall, NU Cuisine served some cakes with green sprinkles today but their bigger celebration spread cornbeef and cabbage and other Irish delicacies across campus. Also, some fancy mint chocolate was available by every C-Store cash register all month. While we may get sick of stirfry, NUCuisine always has a cute and creative approach to every holiday. If you step off campus and around a few corners, you’ll get to Bennison’s where there are racks of treats just for celebrating. Check out their Irish Soda Bread, Shamrock Coffee Cake, and other awesome sweets here: http://www.bennisonscakes.com/stpats.html
While St. Patrick’s Day may come and go in the midst of a miserable finals week (We hope you weren’t that stressed!), NU continues to feel the luck of the Irish, or the competition of the Irish, as NU sororities go head to head this spring with Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s annual Paddy Murphy competition.
Online, while Google disappointed without altered lettering for this momentous occasion, Pandora rose to the web-challenge and proposed Irish Pop, Celtic, or Pub Rock playlists for the holiday.