Bands, pipers, step dancers and Irish organisations will convene for the 249th consecutive year to march Fifth Avenue in the world's largest St. Patty’s parade.

It’d be hard to find a more ethnically diverse city than NY, but come 04 July, there’s no shortage of residents proud to be American. Always a booming festival to celebrate the United States’ independence, festivities abound all day, culminating with a fireworks display on the Hudson. New York Pops performs to accompany the illuminated sky.

A Thanksgiving tradition with all its pageantry and splendor that typifies New York. Watch 10,000 participants — including the nation's best marching bands, performance groups, giant helium balloons, breathtaking floats and Santa Claus — wind through the heart of Manhattan.

Christmas in New York even brings notoriously hurried, curt NYers to slow down a little and share a little more good cheer. Shopping takes even greater prominence, while Rockefeller Center’s lights, towering Christmas tree, and ice skating rink becomes a sight worthy of any Broadway spectacular.

What more needs to be said? Of course everyone knows the massive crowd of revelers who assemble in Times Square for the ball drop. Lesser known but perhaps even more festive are the celebrations in local neighborhood streets and pubs.