Northern Ireland politicians tonight called for calm ahead of the most important 48 hours in the loyalist marching season.
As many thousands of Orangemen prepared for the annual July 12th parades, there were calls from all sides for the event to pass off without incident.
Both marchers and protesters were urged to behave. Tensions in the North are at their lowest level in recent memory after a series of flashpoint parades passed off largely peacefully.
There has been none of the sabre-rattling of past years and politicians on all sides appealed for people to remain calm.
However police were anxious to ensure that contentious parades in North Belfast and in the County Antrim village of Dunloy did not spark trouble.
Hundreds of traditional "11th Night" bonfires were being lit in loyalist areas across the province to mark the start of the annual celebrations.
South Belfast MP Alasdair McDonnell, deputy leader of the nationalist SDLP, appealed to all concerned to ensure that all aspects of the Twelfth were peaceful.
He said: "We cannot brush aside all the problems that are associated with the Twelfth, nor should we. What we can do is ensure that no-one attempts to deal with these problems by means of stones and bottles, or worse. We must insist on dialogue from all sides."
Dr McDonnell added: "People should stay away from the obvious flashpoints. Parades Commission determinations should be respected. Protesters should be calm and dignified and properly marshalled.
"Parade organisers should accept responsibility for camp followers."
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, MP, also appealed for calm and pledged that republicans would do all in their power to ensure the coming days passed off peacefully.
"I would once again appeal to people over the coming days, in spite of provocation and in spite of the continued insistence of the Orange Order to march in areas where they are clearly not welcome, to remain calm," he said.
Mr Adams said it was not the sole responsibility of republicans to provide the calm, the Government and the police service had a big responsibility too.
"The Orange Order and unionist political leaders must play their part in ensuring that the violence traditionally associated with the Twelfth parades is averted this year," he added.
His party colleague, Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP Michelle Gildernew, called for the ending of July 12th as an official public holiday.
Branding it "an outdated legacy of the failed politics of the past", she called for the harmonisation of bank and public holidays across the island of Ireland.
If people wanted to attend Orange parades, they should book time off work like anyone else wanting to attend an event, she said.
The Ulster Unionist leader, Sir Reg Empey, MLA, said he had called for the parading issue to be raised up the political agenda and that was now happening.
He said that, as the North moved towards a period of intense political activity in the autumn, he hoped parading could be accepted as a part of the community's cultural expression.