To learn more about this special holiday and what the best ways are to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, we reached out to Susan Byron of Ireland’s Hidden Gems. Susan was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and share why the 17th of March is such a special day.

“St Patrick's Day is really important because millions of people all around the world can claim Irish heritage, especially in the US and Canada but as far away as Australia and New Zealand too due to mass emigration from the time of the famine (1840 onwards), political unrest and economic depression,” she explained.

“So, St Patrick's Day is their descendant's day to celebrate their Irish roots, which they absolutely love to do with many visitors coming from all around the world for our famous St. Patrick's Day Parade,” Susan says.

We were also curious how Susan likes to celebrate St. Patty’s Day. “We celebrate it quietly to be honest here in Ireland,” she shared. “We would normally watch a parade in our local village of Kinvara, which is great fun and mostly about local businesses, vintage tractors, horses and children from local GAA clubs of all ages.”

“We would definitely have a few pints of Guinness in our local pub or have a little glass of Jamesons, but it's certainly not the big deal it is in America. And we would never dye our rivers green or drink green pints,” Susan added.

And if you’re looking for a great way to celebrate this year, Susan recommends watching a good Irish movie like The Wind that Shakes the Barley, The Field, Michael Collins or even The Quiet Man. “Perhaps have a go at making a batch or brown bread or scones and an Irish Coffee or Hot Whiskey?” she suggests.

And if you’re really interested in having an Irish experience, Susan says you might want to indulge yourself in finally planning your Dream Trip to Ireland. “My company offers exclusive 2 week Tours of Ireland's Hidden Gems, so if they can't be there on [St. Patrick’s Day] this year, maybe they might be inspired to visit in 2025?”

Despite the fact that St. Patrick’s Day is an Irish holiday, celebrations for the big day have spread all over the world, and it’s now often celebrated by plenty of people who don’t even have Irish heritage. Chicago may be the city that’s become the most famous for dying their river green each March, but even here in Vilnius, Lithuania, we had a green river flowing through Užupis this weekend. Some other American cities that participate in this celebration are San Antonio, Texas, Washington, D.C., and Savannah, Georgia.     

St. Patrick’s Day celebrations have reached almost every corner of the globe. According to Irish Central, Buenos Aires, Oslo, Tokyo, Singapore, Istanbul and Sydney, Australia all have celebrations of their own. Parades are hosted in these cities, and locals proudly wave Irish flags through the streets to celebrate this famous holiday. Given that there are millions of Irish citizens living outside of Ireland, it’s nice to know that they can feel a little bit more at home no matter where they are on March 17th!     

If you can’t make it to Dublin next St. Patrick’s Day, there are plenty of other cities around the globe that have fabulous celebrations. According to Lonely Planet, Montreal, Munich, New York, Buenos Aires, and Chicago are the best places outside of Ireland to celebrate. Nearly 40% of Canadians in Quebec are said to have Irish ancestry, so they go all out when celebrating St. Patty’s Day. There’s a huge parade that marches through the city and plenty of Irish pubs to enjoy a Guinness at after the event. 

Munich has been celebrating St. Patrick’s Day for nearly 30 years at this point, and the city has turned the holiday into a three-day celebration filled with a procession and international street food. 

“There are ceilidh bands, rock bands, folk bands, classical Irish — there’s a whole variety of music, it really reflects the Irish population,” Paul Daly, an Irishman who co-founded the Munich event, told Lonely Planet. “It’s not just a big drinking thing either. The parade is more of a family event and it appeals to all age groups. It’s a great time to come and enjoy the craic.”

Are you getting into the St. Patrick’s Day spirit, pandas? We hope you’re enjoying scrolling through these festive pics, and please keep upvoting all of your favorites! Let us know in the comments below how you plan to celebrate St. Patty’s day this year, and then if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article discussing the beauty of this Irish holiday, look no further than right here!