OMAHA — A cheaper pint of Guinness, an extraordinary share of Irish descendants and Irish-flavored Google searches helped land Omaha on a Top-10 list of best American cities for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.
Omaha ranked No. 9 in research by DuelBits, an online crypto casino and sportsbook, which analyzed the 100 most populous U.S. cities against seven different Irish-themed factors. The mission: to find the best places to party on the day commemorating the patron saint of Ireland, who is credited with helping to spread Christianity.
The March 17 observance of St. Patrick’s Day has become a largely secular holiday, but its origins are religious. Christians in Ireland began observing the feast day around the ninth and 10th centuries, according to History.com, which notes that on that day, Lenten prohibitions were waived, people danced, drank and feasted on Irish bacon and cabbage. Traditions later carried over to America, which added modern-day parades, green beer and more.
DuelBits researchers said they looked at various sources to find out whether a city hosts a St. Patty’s Day parade, the number of bars per 100,000 residents, the average price of a pint of Guinness, percentage of population with Irish heritage, Irish-themed Google searches per capita, the number of casinos and average hotel prices across the holiday weekend…