It’s time to get your bright green clothing out the back of your wardrobe, start training your taste buds for copious amounts of Guinness, and be prepared for a crazy St Paddy’s celebration. Ireland is not the only place you can go to celebrate though…
Padua in Italy hosts ‘Irlanda in Festa’, which is a five day celebration – one of the largest in Europe.
Auckland in New Zealand has its own St Patricks Festival Trust, set up specially for this reason. They put on tons of events (this year between the 5th and the 17th March), such as the St Patrick’s Parade and Irish Music and Dance Festival.
Luquillo in Peurto Rico hosts the largest, all day long St Patricks Fest on the island, with a parade and the opportunity to eat corned beef and cabbage – mmmmm.
Tokyo’s St Paddy’s Day parade started in 1992, and just keeps getting bigger every year. It’s held in the city’s shopping district, with flags, floats, Irish dancers, marching bands and Leprechauns.
The Caribbean island of Montserrat is a place that probably wouldn’t pop straight in to your head as a place to celebrate, but they actually have a week-long festival of independence, and it’s the only country outside Ireland where St Pats is a public holiday.
St Patrick’s Day in Newfoundland, Canada is a public holiday, and it was also called the “most irish place in the world outside Ireland” by Irish author Tim Pat Coogan. We wonder if that’s down to the fact that Newfoundlanders celebrate St Paddy’s for one whole week…
Chicago holds the biggest celebration in the US, and is most famous for the fact it dyes the Chicago River green.
Chicago isn’t the only place that dyes its river green… wearing Irish costumes (we’re not entirely sure what an Irish costume entails…) Singapore dyes their river too, as part of the largest celebration in Southeast Asia.A post shared by Jovita Bautista (@jovitadancerbautista) on Mar 20, 2016 at 10:45pm PDT
Mumbai’s Gateway of India goes green (with lights, not dye this time) and Irish pubs around the country stock up on stout.
And when it comes to a good party, we can’t leave South America out. The largest is in Buenos Aires, where they host a huge street party, of course!
Why not think about going slightly further afield than your own country, or even Ireland, to celebrate? If you’re feeling like making a spontaneous trip, have a look at our flights, and make St Paddy’s Day an excuse to get your travel on (if of course you even need an excuse!)