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You may know little more about Ireland’s patron saint St Patrick than the story that he drove away snakes from Ireland. But, whether you’re Irish or not, the chances are that at some point or another, you’ve joined throngs of revellers to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. For this year’s shindig, you may well be planning to make a visit to a friendly Irish pub, but with St Patrick’s Day becoming something of a global phenomenon, that bar might be located anywhere from Dublin to Chicago.

As the name suggests, St Patrick’s Day is supposed to be a day of religious contemplation. Many Christians will attend mass to pray for spiritual renewal, as well as for missionaries worldwide, in memory of St Patrick who is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland back in the late fourth century. For many others, though, the religious significance of the day has been somewhat forgotten. Instead, St Patrick’s Day is a grand excuse to celebrate all things Irish, from lucky shamrocks and leprechauns, to Irish music and dancing. And it’s all swilled down, of course, with copious amounts of Guinness.

If you really want to enjoy the party this year, BeatThatQuote.com has a few tips for some of the best places to spend the day. Don’t forget, though, St Patrick’s Day is officially March 15th this year, instead of March 17th, so it’s worth checking your dates carefully, especially if you don’t want to miss the parades.

Dublin
Of course, you can’t get closer to the roots of it all than by celebrating St Patrick’s Day in Ireland. In Dublin, the celebrations will take up a whole weekend from March 13th-17th, culminating in the St Patrick’s Day Parade on Monday 17th. Throughout the five days, there will be 4,000 performers providing an array of entertainment including music, street theatre, dances and ‘night spectacles’.

Chicago
If travelling further afield takes your fancy, the US is also a great destination for celebrating St Patrick’s Day. In Chicago, they’ve been dying the Chicago River green for over 40 years. The river starts off orange, but then turns green at the touch of a visiting leprechaun... The city’s St Patrick’s Day Parade will take place on 15th March, with up to two million people expected to attend.

Boston
Boston has long had a thriving Irish community. In fact, it was America’s first city to host St Patrick’s Day celebrations back in 1737. It’s hardly surprising, therefore, that its parade is also one of the world’s largest, attracting over half a million people. But that is not all - the city enjoys several days of revelry including music, dance, Gaelic gala dinners, and more.

New York
New York boasts one of the biggest St Patrick’s Day parades in the world, with 150,000 marchers led by the Irish 165th Infantry. Of course, you’ll be surrounded by a sea of green - green clothes, green hats, green flowers - but New Yorkers also go that extra mile, even turning the Empire State Building green for the occasion.

As you can see, St Patrick’s Day provides a perfect excuse for a spring holiday! In the excitement, however, don’t overlook the essentials like getting yourself suitable travel insurance. With cities full to the brim with party-goers, you may find that you face some higher risks - there are likely to be many more people losing their bags or other belongings, for example. With good travel insurance cover, however, you will have the peace of mind to really let your hair down - well, if it’s not trapped beneath a huge green hat, that is.