“Sláinte!” That’s how you toast a drink in Ireland (it’s pronounced slawn-cha, by the way). Of course, you don’t need to be in Ireland to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. There are big festivities held every year in the United States, Canada, Australia, England, and Germany, and even some more unexpected places such as Argentina, Japan, and the Caribbean!
Although St. Patrick’s Day has religious origins, it has evolved into both a cultural and secular celebration. Whether you’re toasting with a pint of Guinness, enjoying a parade, or hunting for four-leaf clovers, this holiday is all about fun, folklore, and a touch of magic. With so many people celebrating, it’s natural that brands, retailers, and media outlets will want to create surveys about it. So how’s the best way to go about it? We’ve got the answers, as well as some St. Patrick’s Day survey ideas!
Create Your FREE St. Patrick’s Day Survey Now
St. Patrick’s Day History
Before we get started, here’s a quick look at the history of St. Patrick’s Day. Its origins date back to the 17th century, when it was established as a feast day honoring St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain in the late 4th or early 5th century, Patrick was kidnapped by Irish raiders at the age of 16 and taken to Ireland as a slave. After several years he escaped, but later returned as a Christian missionary, spreading Christianity across Ireland and using the shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity.
For centuries, St. Patrick’s Day remained a religious holiday, with church services and feasts. However, as Irish immigrants spread across the world—particularly to the United States, Canada, and Australia—the holiday transformed into a larger celebration of Irish heritage and culture. Over time, festivities grew to include parades, parties, and public revelry, with cities like Dublin, New York, Chicago, and Boston becoming famous for their celebrations. Today, St. Patrick’s Day is both a religious observance and a global festival, celebrated by millions—whether they have Irish roots or just enjoy joining in the fun!
St. Patrick’s Day Survey Examples
In order to engage with people, it’s important that your St. Patrick’s Day survey or poll looks good. You’re in luck (pun intended)! SurveyLegend allows you to create beautiful online surveys for free! Plus, you can create surveys with images to further increase engagement and response rate (read why picture surveys perform better in our blog 7 Benefits of Using a Picture Survey). Below are several examples of SurveyLegend surveys with images.
1. Company/Brand Research
In this first St. Patrick’s Day survey example, we ask people what they plan to do to celebrate. While the survey may look innocuous, it’s the type of survey that companies or brands might send out to see how they can capitalize on the celebration. This could inform their marketing strategy, and help them determine how much of their budget they want to allocate toward the holiday. After all, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations bring a surge in consumer spending. In the United States alone, spending for the holiday reached a record $7.2 billion in 2024.
Let’s see how this might work. Let’s say responses indicate that most people would like to enjoy a traditional Irish dish for St. Patrick’s Day. So, a restaurant chain may opt to create limited-time dinner specials on corned beef, shepherd’s pie, and other Irish-inspired eats, and promote it at least a month in advance with advertisements. On the other hand, if surveys show people won’t be going to dinner but instead going to bars, the same restaurant chain might hold off on spending big sums of money on dinner promotions.
3. St. Patrick’s Day Cultural Quiz
Different from a survey but still easily accomplished on SurveyLegend, you can create a St. Patrick’s Day quiz. This could be used in schools, churches, or part of a retail promotional contest to test people’s knowledge of the historical and cultural significance of the holiday.
3. Social Media Surveys
Many media outlets and influencers like to send out quick polls, often via social media. Many of these polls are designed to go viral, by engaging people with a hot topic, including imagery, and asking 1-3 quick questions that can easily be shared with others. This creates a snowball effect, with more and more people receiving and sharing the poll, bringing more attention to the outlet or influencer and boosting their brand (read more about viral surveys and viral quizzes). In this example, we take a current topic and form a quick poll around it. Recently, some people have criticized others for turning the holiday from what used to be a religious holiday into drunken debauchery. This St. Patrick’s Day poll engages with the public by asking them to weigh in.
4. Human Interest Stories
Many media outlets like to publish stories on the human condition or focused on human relationships. Another way to use a holiday survey like these is to ask participants about the importance of St. Patrick’s Day in their lives. Perhaps they’ll find a respondent whose parents immigrated from Ireland. Maybe they’ll find a couple who met at a St. Patrick’s Day parade. Or perhaps they’ll find someone who built a business based on his Irish roots. All of these could make for engaging stories, and a St. Pat’s survey is a great way to discover them.
Create Your FREE St. Patrick’s Day Survey Now
How to Create Your St. Patrick’s Day Questionnaire with SurveyLegend
To make your St. Patrick’s Day quiz or survey, simply follow this step-by-step guide after creating your free SurveyLegend account. Below are instructions for a picture survey like the one above, but any other of our 12 types of surveys is just as easy!
- Login to your account
- Add a new survey and navigate to the CREATE step.
- Use our picture-based question type (“Picture Selection”) by clicking on it.
- Click on the picture selection question that was just added, and then click on the “upload” button.
- Select your pictures and then hit upload.
- If you like, change the layout and size of photos using the settings on the left-hand side.
- Go to the DESIGN step to change the look and feel of your survey (for example, you can choose a dark theme or upload your own St. Paddy’s background).
- Go to the CONFIGURE step and give your St. Pat’s Day survey a good name so that you remember it.
- Finally, continue to the SHARE step, copy your link, and send it to your audience using SMS, Email, Facebook, Slack or whatever platform you like.
- When the distribution of your St. Patrick’s Day survey is done, go to Live Analytics and watch as the results come in.
Start Creating Your St. Patrick’s Day Survey, Poll, or Quiz Today
Ready to create your St. Patrick’s Day quiz, survey or poll? We’ve got you covered! Our surveys render beautifully on any screen, are customizable to your design preferences, and produce awesome results. Want to survey people on other popular holidays and events? We’ve got you covered there, too:
- Thanksgiving Survey
- Independence Day Survey
- Easter Survey
- Valentine’s Day Survey
- “Big Game” Football Survey
- Christmas Surveys (light contests, ugly sweater contests, gingerbread house contests)
- New Year’s Surveys (7 Types of New Years Surveys, New Year Resolution Survey)
- Halloween Surveys (pumpkin carving contests, costume contests)
Do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? What are your plans this year? Let us know in the comments!
Create Your FREE St. Patrick’s Day Survey Now
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is St. Patrick’s Day shortened to “St. Patty” or “St. Paddy”?
It’s “Paddy,” not “Patty.” Paddy comes from Pádraig, the Irish version of Patrick, while Patty is typically short for Patricia. So, don’t make this mistake :)
Do four-leaf clovers exist?
Four-leaf clovers exist but are pretty rare. Most clovers have three leaves, but sometimes a genetic mutation causes a fourth leaf to grow. The odds of finding one are about 1 in 5,000, which is why finding them is considered the luck of the Irish!.
What are leprechauns?
These little fairies come from ancient Irish mythology and are often described as small, bearded men wearing green coats and buckled shoes. According to legend, they’re shoemakers who hide pots of gold at the end of the rainbow. If you catch one, he might grant you three wishes in exchange for his freedom.
