You’d better start finding your green clothing if you don’t want to get pinched on St. Patrick’s Day. March 17 is fast approaching, and that means Irish Americans —and many others across the country — are preparing for one of the most raucous holidays all year.
More than 33 million partiers around the world participate in St. Patrick’s Day festivities each year, according to financial website WalletHub. That means 13 million pints of Guinness will be consumed on March 17.
In honor of everyone’s favorite patron saint, WalletHub has put together some interesting facts to help you get in the St. Paddy’s spirit. For starters, a full 82.5% of revelers plan to wear green, according to the website.
While everyone is buying all their beers, they will spend about $5.3 billion dollars, the website estimates. And each St. Patrick’s Day partier will spend an average of $38 for their fun.
But Guinness isn’t the only way to celebrate. Nearly one third of Americans plan to cook a special dinner on St. Patrick’s Day, and cabbage shipments will increase by 70% during the week of March 17.
No matter how many pints of Guinness you drink to mark the occasion, make sure you have a responsible way to get home. As WalletHub points out, St. Patrick’s Day can be a bad day for drunk driving, as 30 people were killed in drunk driving incidents over the St. Paddy’s day holiday period in 2015.