St. Patrick's Day

Chicago Named Best US City to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in New Ranking

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From dyeing the Chicago River green to the Shannon Rovers pipe band, Chicagoans sure know how to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

In fact, the city is apparently one of the best places to celebrate the holiday, which takes place Thursday.

Global comparison site EnjoyTravel.com released its report of The 15 Best Cities in the US to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Out of the 15, Chicago was named The Best City in the US to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. The cities were ranked on their unique St. Paddy's Day traditions, such as the parade, Irish diaspora density and the number of Irish pubs and restaurants.

Ireland and the US have a long history together, so much so the Irish diaspora in the US is 31.5 million. A colossal 127 million Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day every year.

In Chicago, the Irish population grew steadily by the mid-1800s, but the celebration of St. Patrick's Day didn't take hold until the next century.

The city's first parade was held in 1956 and the unique tradition of dyeing the river green began in 1961.

Gorgeous floats, as well as bagpipers, Irish step dancing and Irish flags can be seen in the parade that travels from Balbo to Monroe Street. St. Patrick's Day celebrations have been on pause for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so Chicago is expected to paint the town even more green.

To see the complete list of cities on the ranking, click here.

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