St. Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick, is a cultural and religious celebration held annually on March 17th. It marks the traditional death date of Saint Patrick, saint of Ireland. Each year, thousands of Irish Americans gather with their loved ones on St. Patrick’s Day to celebrate. My family celebrates each year with jamming out to celtic music and preparing cornbread and shepherd’s pie for dinner. Some of the more “traditional” meals are corned beef and cabbage. Another unique tradition that has grown in popularity every year is the annual dyeing of the Chicago River. The tradition of dyeing the river green arose by accident when plumbers used fluorescein dye to trace sources of illegal pollution discharges. Shamrock green is the color associated with St. Patrick’s Day, since it’s very close to the green on the Irish flag. Wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day are traditions that started in the 17th century, when people wore green ribbons and shamrocks. Pinching people who didn’t wear green reminded them that leprechauns could sneak up on them at any time.

The two teen friendly things in the quad cities are the CASI’S annual St.Patrick’s Day Race in Davenport and the Quad Cities Grand Parade XXXIII in Rock Island ( the only interstate St.Patrick’s Day Parade in the nation).