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Gabbi Shaw
Updated
- St Patrick's Day is known for its festive parades and gatherings, attracting tourists and locals from all across the world.
- An average of 13 million pints of Guinness are served on St. Patrick's Day.
- Due to the coronavirus, Irish officials havecanceled all St. Patrick's Day parades in the Republic of Ireland for this year and across the world, but we can still learn about the holiday and celebrate it's history.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
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On St. Patrick's Day, the whole world gets to be Irish.
Financial websiteWalletHubput together aninfographicthathighlights some of the most interesting facts about how Americans spend St. Paddy's Day.
For instance, did you know that St. Patrick's Day is the third most popular drinking day in America? Or that cabbage shipments increase 70% in the week leading up to the big day? Keep reading for more fun facts about the holiday.
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Chicago dumps 50 pounds of green dye into the river every St. Patrick's Day.
Don't worry, it's just vegetable dye.
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Over half of Americans planned to celebrate St. Patrick's Day this year — 57% to be exact.
The population of Irish Americans is seven times the population of Ireland.
Due to the coronavirus, parades across the country are being temporarily postponed.
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And 79% of those celebrating plan to rock some green.
Even though St. Patrick's traditional color is blue.
Wallethub estimates that $6.16 billion will be spent in the name of the Emerald Isle this year.
Prices may be different now in light of cancellations and changes due to the coronavirus.
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To put that in perspective, the average person spends $40 during their celebrations.
That includes buying green accessories for the perfect leprechaun-inspired outfit.
That's a lot of Guinness — 13 million pints to be exact.
Guinness is served 819% more often on St. Patrick's Day than any other day of the year.
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All that Guinness adds up. St. Patrick's Day is the fourth most popular drinking day in America.
It's only behind New Year's Eve, Christmas, and the Fourth of July.
But be careful to keep your alcohol consumption in check. 60 people were killed in drunk driving crashes on March 17, 2016.
It's such a problem that Uber has stepped up to try and discourage people from getting behind the wheel by providing promo codes.
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And 75% of those fatal car crashes involved someone who had at least twice the legal limit in their blood system.
Seriously, just don't drink and drive. Police are everywhere.
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Besides drinking, Irish food also plays a part in the festivities. Cabbage shipments increase 70% in the week leading up to the big day.
In New Orleans, the St. Patrick's Day parade substitutes cabbage for beads.
Over 30% of Americans celebrate by preparing a traditional Irish meal.
Besides cabbage and corned beef, people also bake Irish soda bread and Shepherd's pie.
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Irish-Americans are all over the country. There are 193 cities in America with an Irish population of 10% or more.
Irish people are all around you.
And there are 16 cities named Dublin across the country.
But none do St. Patrick's Day like the original.
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Americans have been celebrating this day for 281 years — the first St. Paddy's Day parade was in 1737, in Boston, MA.
The Boston parade wasn't just the first St. Patrick's Day parade in the US — it was the first one in the entire world. Ireland didn't join the fun until years later.
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