Glasgow, Scotland
To stay close to Ireland, Glasgow celebrates St. Patrick's Day with its
annual festival full of events, traditional music, dancing and traditional drinks. Pubs and bars organize and encourage live music performances, poetry readings and group dances, with audiences so wild you'll think you're in Ireland!
London, England
St. Patrick's Day is not officially a public holiday in England, but the city lives the holiday as if it were! Music and comedy, mournful Irish pub parties, the famous annual parade - London goes green on St. Patrick's Day!
Munich, Germany
We move a little further southeast to mention Munich. Despite no direct ties or large Irish communities, Munich has enthusiastically adopted the holiday! Since 1996, the city in Bavaria has held an
annual St. Patrick's Day parade, with a larger and larger turnout each year, recreating an Irish atmosphere with traditional music and dancing.
Copenhagen, Denmark
Denmark also doesn't have strong ties to Ireland, yet Copenhagen's celebrations honor those in Dublin! Parades, green beer, traditional Irish music, and most importantly the most unique event of the festival:
the three-legged race through the city's Irish pubs, drinking in each one as they pass by.
Where to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in the rest of the world?
Not only Europe: as we were saying St. Patrick's Day is now a global holiday, also celebrated in the rest of the world. In the United States the celebration has ancient origins, but also in the rest of the world some unsuspected cities are among the most active on this day:
Chicago
On St. Patrick's Day, the Windy City transforms into one of the greenest cities in the world. Distinctive feature is the change of color of the city's river, dyed green since the morning just for the occasion. If this were not enough, the city also hosts not one, but three parades, attended by
about 2 million people!
New York City
New York City's St. Patrick's Day Parade has ancient origins (first held in 1762) and is
the largest in the United States along with Chicago's. Like every year, the parade will pass St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue and end at the Irish American Historical Society. Many pubs and restaurants in the city stage Irish themed parties, with food and of course typical drinks. One of the most famous parties is held at McSorley's, the oldest Irish pub in the city!
Tokyo, Japan
The first St. Patrick's Day parade in Tokyo was held in 1992 and was meant to be a sort of introduction to Irish culture for the Japanese. Well, apparently
the Japanese loved it and today the parade is a mix of both cultures, getting more and more popular year after year!
Buenos Aires, Argentina
It's always party time in Buenos Aires, but when St. Patrick's Day comes around, the Argentine capital turns into an alternative version of Dublin. Descendants of the Irish in the city throw
South America's most famous St. Patrick's Day celebration, turning 10 blocks in the heart of the city into a kingdom dominated by the color green (and full of Irish beer).
Sydney, Australia
Given the large influx of Irish people into Australia over the past few centuries, perhaps it's not so surprising that Sydney is a place where St. Patrick's Day celebrations are wildly popular. In fact, pubs and restaurants offer
traditional Irish food and drink all day long and parties go on and on!
And these are just a few of the many cities that celebrate St. Patrick's Day with great events! Whether it's street parades, concerts or simple pub parties, there are truly many places in the world to celebrate. We're sure there's some kind of celebration happening near you too! All that's left to do is
dress up in green and celebrate!