The Twelfth

The Twelfth
Orangemen parading in Bangor, 12 July 2010
Also called	Orangemen's Day
Observed by	Orange Order and many Irish Protestants
Significance	Celebration of the Glorious Revolution (1688) and victory of William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne (1690)
Celebrations	Parading, bonfires, erecting flags and bunting
Date	12 July
Frequency	Annual
Related to	The Eleventh Night

The Twelfth (also called Orangemen's Day)^[1] is a primarily Ulster Protestant celebration held on 12 July. It began in the late 18th century in Ulster. It celebrates the Glorious Revolution (1688) and victory of Protestant King William of Orange over Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne (1690), which ensured a Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. On and around the Twelfth, large parades are held by the Orange Order and Ulster loyalist marching bands, streets are plastered with union jacks and bunting, and large towering bonfires are lit in loyalist neighbourhoods. Today the Twelfth is mainly celebrated in Northern Ireland, where it is a public holiday, but smaller celebrations are held in other countries where Orange lodges have been set up.

Since its beginning, the Twelfth has been accompanied by violence between Ulster Protestants and Catholics, especially during times of political tension. A lot of Protestants see the Twelfth as an important part of their culture, while Catholic Irish nationalists see many aspects of it as sectarian, triumphalist and supremacist. Irish flags burning on Eleventh Night bonfires, and Orange marches through Catholic neighbourhoods, have been especially controversial. The Drumcree conflict is the most well-known dispute involving Orange marches. Sectarian violence around the Twelfth worsened during the Troubles, but today most events pass off peacefully. Recently there have been attempts to draw tourists to the main Twelfth parades and present them as family-friendly pageants.

When 12 July falls on a Sunday, the parades are held instead on the next Monday, 13 July.