For the most part the fickle gods of weather smiled kindly on St Patrick's Day festivities "from sea to shining sea" of the US. But in Seattle on Saturday there was snow on the ground. "Erin go brrr..." said yesterday's Seattle Times headline on the chilly parade.
They were parading this weekend from Toronto and Montreal in the north to Gulfport in Mississipi's south, from New York to San Francisco, from Seattle to Orlando in Florida.
On Saturday President Bush even stepped out in Chicago, Illinois, in a sea of green in a parade which honoured Father Mychal Judge, the popular Catholic chaplain of the New York City Fire Department who died in the attacks on the World Trade Centre.
Father Judge was named the parade's grand marshal, the first time the honour has been bestowed posthumously.
Mr Bush got out of the presidential limousine and walked a few blocks, flanked by the republican Governor George Ryan and Democratic Mayor, Mr Richard M. Daley. Tomorrow sees statewide primaries that feature hotly contested Republican races for governor and US Senate, and farther back among the marchers were candidates hoping to drum up support from last-minute voters.
As usual the Chicago River was dyed green for the occasion, an event the St Patrick's Day website locally claims to be "a miracle on a par with the parting of the sea by Moses." And just as New York and Chicago had taken on patriotic themes post-September 11th, others did so, too.
In San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday one of the largest marches of the south-west took as its theme "An Irish Salute to the American Spirit".
In Washington DC, the parade yesterday was preceded by a minute's silence for the victims of the attack. Its theme was simply "For Those Who Serve" and the honorary grand marshals were families of those killed in the city.
In San Diego, California, on Saturday the theme was "We Are One".
The march yesterday in Holy Oak, Massachusetts, watched by an estimated 300,000, also took as its theme honouring the victims of September 11th, with a special tribute to Father Judge. It was attended by Minister of State, Mr Frank Fahey.
These days the style of marches and their participants range from the traditional assertions of municipal power by the big battalions of firemen, policemen and city workers in places like New York and Chicago to the Mardi Gras-like atmosphere of Savannah, Georgia, by many accounts now regularly the most fun parade. This year it was toned down somewhat to mark September 11th and also featured policemen from New York as well as an Irish Rottweiler, dressed appropriately, called Dingus McGee.
The Government was represented by former minister for foreign affairs, Mr David Andrews TD.
Orlando's parade organisers also decided to tone things down to make their parade more family-friendly. Last year's lime green thong bikinis were no more.
