Saint Patrick's Day - stumble into any Irish-themed pub on March 17th and there will be a Saint Patrick's Day celebration of sorts going on. Most of them not really reflecting the sober image the Ancient Order of Hibernians tried to promote with its Saint Patrick's parades. Drive to any major town in Ireland and some sort of parade will be on. Or you will spot people enjoying a traditional Saint Patrick's Day.
Here are some hints on where to go in 2012:
Saint Patrick's Festival in Dublin and Wexford
The Saint Patrick's Festival is the "national festival" - events held in Dublin. Main attraction - the Parade on March 17th. Bands from Ireland, Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom and Belorussia will join groups from California, Georgia (the US version), Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas and Washington to march through the streets of the capital.
Local parades and festivities will be held in all areas of Ireland, some parades starting at noon, others later - enquire locally. Notable is the Belfast St. Patrick's Parade, which in 2012 will have the theme "2012", celebrating both the Titanic centenary and the London Olympics (leaving out Queen Elizabeth's jubilee, it seems).
Saint Patrick's Day in Great Britain
- Cheltenham (England) - Cheltenham Festival (not a Saint Patrick's Day event per se, but dominated by Irish horse-racing fans)
- London (England) - Saint Patrick's Day Events on About London for Visitors. Laura also has some additional information on her London website - like an image gallery of typical "Paddy's Day" events and a list of recommended Irish pubs.
- Great Britain - Events on Saint Patrick's Day in Birmingham and Manchester are higlighted by Ferne Arfin.
Saint Patrick's Day in Europe
- Saint Patrick's Parade in Budapest and more on St. Patrick's Day in the Hungarian capital
- Saint Patrick's Day in Greece
- Saint Patrick's Day in Italy
- Saint Patrick's Day in Moscow
- Saint Patrick's Day in Munich
- Saint Patrick's Day in Paris plus Paris' Irish pubs
- Saint Patrick's Day in Prague
Saint Patrick's Day in the USA
- Boston - Saint Patrick's Day Events on About New England for Visitors, including Boston's massive parade.
- Chicago - Saint Patrick's Day Events on About Chicago for Visitors
- Los Angeles - Saint Patrick's Day Events on About Los Angeles for Visitors
- New Orleans - Saint Patrick's Day Events on About New Orleans for Visitors
- New York City - Saint Patrick's Day Events on About New York City for Visitors
- Phoenix - Saint Patrick's Day Events on About Phoenix, AZ
- Southeastern United States - Saint Patrick's Day Events on About Southeastern United States for Visitors
- Southwestern United States - Saint Patrick's Day Events on About Southwestern United States for Visitors
- Washington D.C. - Saint Patrick's Day Events on About Washington D.C. for Visitors
- You'll also find a comprehensive list of St. Patrick's Festivities in the US on About.com's USA Travel site.
Saint Patrick's Day in Canada
Saint Patrick's Day in the Caribbean
- Montserrat and St. Croix - Saint Patrick's Day Round-Up on About Caribbean for Visitors
Saint Patrick's Day in South America
- Find out more on how Brazil celebrates Saint Patrick's Day.
- Also have a look at Saint Patrick's Day in Sao Paolo.
