We are just a few hours away from St Patrick's Day — the Irish celebration that has turned into a worldwide festival. People are gearing up to celebrate Irish heritage in greens and with lots and lots of traditional Irish food and plenty of alcohol March 17 to honor the patron saint of Ireland.
But of course, one of the biggest traditions on the day continues to be St Patrick's Day parades. They had started in Dublin, but are now seen all over the world.
New York City is known to hold the biggest St Patrick's parade every year, and joining hands with the city are Dublin, London, Chicago and Montserrat. But if you cannot witness the parades at any of these cities in person, don't worry – you can catch all the action live from the comfort of your home.
New York City, the US
The parade will start at 11 am local time on 44th Street and 5th Avenue and continues till 79th Street. The parade will pass the St Patrick's Cathedral on its way. From the steps, His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, will review it.
While no cars or floats are allowed in the roughly six-hour-long parade, bagpipes, bands, dancers and thousands of participants are. This year, the expected number of participants is 200,000.
The parade will be streamed live on the NBC 4 NewYork website.
Dublin, Ireland
While Dublin's celebrations might not be as big as New York City's, they sure go on for much longer. Celebrations including boat races, street and music performances, the Irish Beer and Whisky Festival all lead up to the big day.
Starting March 16, this year's celebrations will run through March 19. The parade will happen March 17. About half a million people will parade through the Irish city, starting from Parnell Square to St Patrick's Cathedral. The parade will start around 12 pm.
Live streams of the parade will be available on the Irish Central Facebook page. The parade's theme this year is "Home is where the heart is."
London, the UK
London's celebrations usually happen the weekend of the 17th.
This year's parade will be held March 18, starting at noon and making its way down to Piccadilly Square. On the way, it will pass some of London's most iconic landmarks, including The Ritz, Piccadilly Circus, and Trafalgar Square.
You can catch the live streams of the parade on the London Irish website.
Chicago, the US
Chicago's St Patrick's Day celebrations' most striking feature is dyeing Chicago completely green – something that draws about 450,000 people.
The parade then starts at noon and is joined by more spectators, as the three-hour-long event follows a route from Columbus Drive through Grant Park.
The live parade will be streamed on the Lizzie McNeill's Irish Pub website.
Montserrat
The island of Montserrat in the Caribbeans is the only place outside Ireland where the day is a public holiday. Their 10-day-long celebrations include festivities such as a Kite Festival and a St Patrick's Day dinner.
The day also marks the first slave uprising of the island, and this year is the 250th anniversary of that, meaning the 2018 celebrations are especially significant.
While there will be no parade, other attractions like a reconstructed slave village for attendees to buy traditional food or participate in traditional games and dances are sure to set the mood!
