- Did you know the very first St. Patrick’s Day parade wasn’t in Ireland, but rather in Boston?
- St. Patrick’s Day may be the most popular beer-drinking holiday in America, but many people may not know these interesting facts about the Irish holiday.
- Financial website WalletHub pulled together a list of facts about St. Patrick’s Day, from how many pints of Guinness are consumed worldwide to how much the average American spends on the day.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated by a majority of Americans, regardless of their own Irish heritage.
Celebrations have been going on for more than 1,000 years, and each year more than 100 parades happen across the country.
Whether you’re planning to attend one of the country’s many parades, grab a pint at a local Irish pub, or stay home and cook up some cabbage and corned beef, you may find yourself wondering about the facts and traditions behind St. Patrick’s Day.
Financial website WalletHub pulled together a list of facts about St. Patrick’s Day and they just might surprise you.
Here are 15 facts you probably didn't know about St. Patrick's Day.
More than half of Americans will celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
According to WalletHub, 57% of respondents said they planned to celebrate the Irish holiday.
More than $6 billion will be spent on St. Patrick's Day this year.
On average, Americans celebrating the Irish holiday will spend $43.
A majority of St. Patrick's Day partiers plan to wear green.
79% of celebrators said they planned to wear the festive color.
However, the color blue was originally associated with Saint Patrick.
Early depictions of the Irish saint showed him wearing blue garments and the Order of St. Patrick, created by King George III, had sky blue as its official color.
It takes 50 pounds of dye to turn the Chicago River green.
The dye lasts five hours and is one of the most recognizable ways Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day. The river was first dyed green in 1962.
Every year, the US president is given a crystal ball filled with shamrocks.
The tradition began in 1952 when the Irish ambassador to the US, John Hearne, sent a box of shamrocks to President Harry S. Truman.
St Patrick's Day is the most popular holiday for beer drinking in the US.
It's the third most popular drinking holiday overall, and the average person consumes around four drinks on St. Patrick's Day.
A whopping 13 million pints of Guinness will be consumed worldwide this St. Patrick's Day.
WalletHub reports that 174% more beer is sold on St. Patrick's Day than on an average day.
Hard alcohol is also extremely popular on St. Patrick's Day.
There are 153% more spirits sold on St. Patrick's Day than normally.
St. Patrick's Day is also one of the most common holidays for drunk driving-related accidents.
In 2018, 73 people were killed in drunk driving crashes over St. Patrick's Day weekend.
While Americans love to partake in drinking on St. Patrick's Day, fewer people plan to cook a special dinner.
Only 28% of Americans plan to cook a St. Patrick's Day meal.
Corned beef and cabbage are traditionally eaten in the US on St. Patrick's Day.
Beer is also sometimes dyed green.
Cabbage is more popular around St. Patrick's Day than any other time in the states.
There's a 70% increase in cabbage shipments during St. Patrick's Day week.
The first St. Patrick's Day parade was held in Boston, not Ireland, in 1737.
The tradition began as a result of large concentrations of Irish immigrants moving to Boston and New York City. The first St. Patrick's Day parade would come to New York City in 1762.
Most Americans would be interested in celebrating St. Patrick's Day in Ireland.
Of those surveyed, 88% of Americans said they'd be interested in traveling across the pond to celebrate the Irish holiday.
- Read more:
- The best cities in the US to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, ranked
- Everywhere from New York to Egypt celebrates St. Patrick's Day - see the photos of raucous celebrations around the world
- 12 things you didn't know about St. Patrick's Day
- We compared 5 of the most popular cheap beers in a blind taste test. While most of them tasted like water, there was a clear winner.