In Ireland, St. Patrick's Day provides the launch of the country's annual push for tourism, a big part of the rural economy.

New York's parade, a tradition that predates the city itself, draws more than 1 million spectators and about 200,000 participants every March 17.

Parade organizers in New York have said gay groups are not prohibited from marching, but are not allowed to carry gay-friendly signs or identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.

Some LGBT groups intended to protest the parade along its route on Fifth Avenue on Monday. Others had planned to dump Guinness beer from the shelves of the Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of the gay rights movement, to protest the brewer's plan to sponsor the parade, but that demonstration was canceled late Sunday after Guinness said in a statement that it had dropped its sponsorship.

About the broadcaster:

Anne Ruisi is an editor at China Daily online with more than 30 years of experience as a newspaper editor and reporter. She has worked at newspapers in the U.S., including The Birmingham News in Alabama and City Newspaper of Rochester, N.Y.

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