St. Patrick's Day Parade, South Boston, Massachusetts, USA

The traditional St. Patrick's Day Parade was held yesterday in South Boston under clear and bright blue skies with a chill breeze.  Temperatures hovered in the mid-thirties but that did not dampen the spirits of the many revelers who attended.

Parades are ultimately about people - the opportunity to gather outside, meet old friends, make new friends, watch people behaving and misbehaving, see and be seen, have a few laughs, and maybe support good causes.  The photo above shows the river of humanity streaming out of the Red Line's Andrew subway station before the parade started.  I hear this river of humans continued with each arriving train for the next few hours.

I knew I'd be in for a lot of green today after seeing these women before I even boarded the train.  My strategy was to board at the beginning stop, Braintree, so I could get a seat.  I barely achieved that as thousands of others apparently had the same idea.  Each stop heading into town saw packed platforms and folks cramming into already packed trains.  (It was like an Independence Day celebration except it was cold.)

This was my favorite green feature of the day.

He even bent down to let me get a good top shot.

A few green tutus and many little green hats were spotted.

And a few big green hats, too.

The Sheetmetal Workers Local had a Tinman  in the parade.

Green pants were popular, as were these flyers advertising a local doctor's clinic to get your medical marijuana prescription since it was approved by Massachusetts voters last year.  

More green hair and a reminder to drink responsibly.  Overall, the crowd was younger than I am.  I doubt some took that advice to heart but I left before the serious partying began.

Just about green everything.

I'm not sure what an Irish pirate mixed with clownface means but there he was.

 More green hats.

I didn't seen many green kilts and garters - it was really too cold to bare much flesh, unless.......

.....you were these two women representing PETA.  I am a vegan too, but you won't catch me parading around on a cold winter day in my bathing suit - but these two women were quite popular as they passed by.  Perhaps it helped a few in the crowd think about being vegan and not killing animals for food or pleasure.

Many carried their shot glasses around their necks so they could share a drinking moment with friends.  Of course they were drinking water or soda since drinking alcohol in public is prohibited - yeah, right.

Thousands milling about before the parade began in earnest.

The sidewalks in places eventually became impassable - a good time to stop for a lingering kiss.

Some brought their pets - mostly small.

Some looking rather gruff but happy for a scratch behind the ears.

The Boston Police motorcycle corps led the whole shebang.  They know how to dress for warm.

It was a great day to be out and about among the lively young folks celebrating the patron saint of Ireland. There are more people of Irish descent living elsewhere in the world than in Ireland itself - ten times as many live in the United States as in Ireland. The Boston area has the greatest concentration in the United States.  As they say, "Éirinn go Brách."