There was a good natured sense of expectation as thousands of people fell in behind the families.
The vast majority of it is good natured, sort of humorous, and sometimes akin to a mollifying catholic confession.
A Nepalese temple has joined two US lesbians in holy matrimony to nothing more than the "good natured curiosity" of worshippers at Dakshinkali outside Kathmandu.
That's right, Halloween isn't just a good natured day of the year where we can legally intimidate stangers into giving us their possessions.
Look for a good natured, middle of the road pup who doesn't growl or bite.
"Hey Ya" stands a good chance of winning just because it's the most good-natured of the bunch.
I have seen a lot of the coverage and talked to people who were there who talked about how good natured a lot of the police were and how good natured a lot of the demonstrators were.
But it was generally quite good natured," said one of the demonstrators, Adam Ramsay.
They get three extra on Siegfried nights and a certain amount of good natured fun.
He reserves much space for criticizing the anecdotalism of David Brooks, whom he accuses of "good-natured loathing" of the liberal elite.
Although some sponsors decided to play it straight — with decidedly mixed results — the pervasive atmosphere was one of good-natured humor, of a type that seemed to elevate the night's proceedings.
