Americans love to celebrate their rich cultural heritage on various holidays throughout the year. Just like February has Chinese New Year (February 8), June has Juneteenth (June 19), and October has Columbus Day (October 10), March is known for its recognition of Irish culture on St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th.
According to Mental Floss, St. Patrick’s Day was originally celebrated as a religious holiday which meant pubs were closed on March 17. However, an exception was made for beer vendors at a big national dog show, which always was held on St. Patrick’s Day. Finally, in 1970, the day was converted to a national holiday, and drinks started flowing.
Today, festivities in honor of this holiday’s eponymous Irish patron saint ranges from family-friendly parades to the drinking of adults-only, Irish spirits and beverages.
According to WalletHub in its annual St. Patrick’s Day report, cities throughout the country will host events honoring the 33.1 million Americans of Irish descent on this day in 2016. They ranked the top 100 celebrations using “…17 key metrics to find out which among them are worthy of the Irish’s approval when it comes to celebrating their ancestry,” the company said. Their criteria included factors like the number of Irish pubs and restaurants per capita, hotel prices, and weather forecasts for the holiday.
Boston is ranked as the number 1 city out of 100 cities studied for celebrating St. Paddy’s Day, San Bernadino, CA ranked at the bottom at 100. For comparison, Houston came in at number 83.
Notably, the city studied with the highest Irish American population is Pittsburgh and the city with the lowest is Hialeah, Fl. For a complete run down to how other cities fared, click here.
We can’t end this post without providing you with a full list of St. Patrick’s Day parades in the States. Also, if you’re in Houston and you want to find an event to attend, check out Houston Press compiled a guide of St. Patrick’s Day festivities.
What celebrations do you have planned? Let us know in the comments below. In the meantime, Sláinte!
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