It’s true—everyone wants to be Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. What has traditionally been a religious holiday in Ireland has now turned into a tourist attraction for the country’s capital, a 24-hour-long advertisement for Guinness beer and a new reason to celebrate in different cities around the world.
Of course, it’s popular among those of Irish descent, but the non-Irish make themselves part of the celebration too. The secular-version of this holiday has gained a widespread following among the Irish and non-Irish alike. Read below to see how some world cities are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this year.
Dublin, Ireland
In 1995, the Irish government set a goal to have a St. Patrick’s Day festival ranked among one of the best in the world. Today, committees spend 18 long months planning events and hiring staff to carry out an annual festival. St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland typically begins with people going to mass then attending a high-energy parade or celebration in town. Particularly in Dublin, the City Council nominates a “Grand Leprechaun”—someone who has made exemplary community service contributions and volunteer efforts to lead the parade that year. The St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin is part of a five-day festival.While almost everything in Ireland is closed on St. Patrick’s Day (with the exception of pubs and restaurants), tourists can easily find shamrocks and green beer for the occasion.
Various cities, United States
The city of Chicago dyes the Chicago River green (using 40 pounds of green dye)! New York City hosts a St. Patrick’s Day parade on Fifth Avenue with more than 150,000 marchers. Boston, the first American city to hold a St. Patrick’s Day celebration in 1737, hosts various events during the weeks leading up to March 17th, attracting more than 600,000 people for the holiday. Savannah, Georgia, dyes its downtown city fountains green while Indianapolis, Indiana, dyes its Central Canal green. This holiday in the United States is all about the color green (and those who choose to not wear the color will more than likely get pinched). Some people even host dinner parties featuring only green foods!
Montserrat
Montserrat, known as the “Emerald Island of the Caribbean,” was founded by Irish refugees, and is one of the few places in the world where St Patrick’s Day is a public holiday. Here you’ll be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in the Caribbean for a week straight with parades, concerts, music events, masses and even a commemoration of a famous slave revolt. The Irish and African cooperation you’ll experience on the island gives this holiday a unique feel compared with anywhere else in the world.No, it’s not spring break—it’s St. Patrick’s Day!
Tokyo, Japan
The St. Patrick’s Day Celebration began in Tokyo in 1992 as a way to introduce the Japanese people to Irish culture. Still today, 2,000 marchers parade down an Omote Sando Avenue lined with Irish and Japanese flags. Who’s at the front of the kilt-wearing, bagpipe-playing pack? The Irish Ambassador to Japan. The growing numbers of Irish pubs in the area also send young, attractive females to hand out free beer vouchers (which seems to have become a major highlight of the event).
Copenhagen, Denmark
In Copenhagen, the annual St. Patrick’s Day 3-Legged Charity race encourages participants to drink a half-pint of Carlsberg beer in each of the seven pubs along the race route (and must also finish the race within two hours).However, this event is more than just a beer fest, it’s also a fundraising event for children’s charities in Denmark and in other parts of the world. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the race, and organizers plan to raise record amounts of revenue this year for their cause.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
The fifth largest Irish community in the world can be found in Argentina (there are approximately a half million Irish families living in the country today). Thus, you better believe there’s a St. Patrick’s Day celebration happening in the capital. There’s no parade, but there’s a party which takes over ten blocks of the city center. Every year up to 60,000 people cram the streets and dance the night away. Other events also take place at the city cathedrals and churches.
I’ve only highlighted a few of the many St. Patrick’s Day celebrations happening this year across the world. All of these celebrations inspire me to have my own here in Hong Kong. What are your plans for this year’s holiday? Splurge on some green gear and go get your Irish on!
Sources:
Chicago River (photo); ABC News, http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/88197387.html?gallery=y&img=8&c=y
Buenos Aires celebration (photo): Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/happynews/sns-holiday-stpatricks-celebrations,0,7365900.photogallery
3-legged race (photo): Paddysday.dk, http://www.paddysday.dk/thegallery.asp