New York ? St. Patrick’s Day Parade spectators, lined up 10 deep along Fifth Avenue and packing marches around the country, put war worries aside Monday to revel in upbeat festivities.

The New York parade, the nation’s largest and a tradition since 1766, was expected to draw an estimated 2 million spectators. Large parades honoring Ireland’s patron saint also were held in Savannah, Ga., billed as the nation’s second-largest march, as well as Kansas City, Mo., and Cleveland.

“I’m representing Ireland and New York today. It’s a day for happiness and to be together,” said Long Island resident Greg Packer, who sported a bright green wig and a painted green mustache at New York’s parade. “It’s a day to take in the Irish culture that we have in the city.”

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was among several officials who marched up Fifth Avenue, including Gov. George Pataki and former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and was greeted with shouts of “We love you, Mike!”

With temperatures in the upper 60s, there were few signs of a possible war with Iraq among the sea of green hats, shirts and balloons. One sign read “Honk For Our Troops.”

But high police visibility and a number of road closures were a constant reminder. Parade watcher Arthur Crowley said the talk of war didn’t bother him.

“I’m not worried at all because I know we’re going to win,” he said.

In Savannah, hundreds of military wives wearing yellow ribbons with their green hats and beads marched in pouring rain to rally support for their soldier husbands.

“We don’t usually get to step out and say our piece,” said Kara Collins, whose husband, Capt. Stephen Collins, left with his infantry support battalion for Kuwait in January. “This is going to show we love our soldiers and respect our soldiers.”

Past St. Patrick’s bashes in Savannah have drawn up to 400,000, but rain thinned this year’s crowd.

Locals who braved the rain credited the city’s Irish roots — thousands settled in Savannah in the pre-Civil War 1800s — for keeping the party rolling.

“It’s tradition. You’ve got to go to the parade,” said Lane Kennedy, 62, who sipped a mimosa beneath a tent her family pitched. “It’s like a football game — rain or shine, you’re going to be there.”

Angela Pallotta, 7, of Sterling, Mass., left, Nathaniel Alexander, 7, of Leominster, Mass., and other children dressed as angels accompany St. Patrick, portrayed by Jim Duffy, of Shirley, Mass., background, on a float in the St. Patrick's Day parade in South Boston. Parades and celebrations across the country drew millions of Irish Americans on Monday.

Cleveland’s parade brought out thousands of spectators, and little hint of the heated politics surrounding the looming war.

John Price said news of possible war “kind of puts a damper on it,” but added: “It’s a day to forget about all that.”

Weather was perfect in Kansas City, whose parade is billed as the nation’s third-largest.

In New York, the Fire Department’s Emerald Society Pipe and Drums, displaying small American flags from the pipes, was among the many who performed. The band has played at 400 funerals and memorials for the 343 firefighters — including two band players — who died in the terrorist attacks.

Bloomberg, wearing a pinstripe suit and green tie and waving an Irish flag, marched four times, once with each of four departments: police, fire, sanitation and correction.

The mayor has participated in several St. Patrick’s Day parades this month, including a gay-inclusive event in another part of the city.

He has been criticized for marching in Monday’s parade by a group of gay and lesbian Irish-American politicians because it bars gays from marching under their own banner, as many other groups are allowed.