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 Orangemens' 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 Whig political party and Anglican Ascendancy in Ireland and the passing of the Penal Laws to disenfranchise and persecute the nation's Catholic majority, and to a lesser extent Protestant Dissenters, until Catholic Emancipation in 1829.

On and around the Twelfth, large parades are held by the Orange Order and Ulster loyalist marching bands, streets are decorated with union jack flags and bunting, and large towering bonfires, commemorating the beacons which guided Prince William into Carrickfergus, 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, including Scotland, Australia, and Canada, 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. Many Northern Irish Protestants see the Twelfth as an important part of their culture, while Irish nationalists and many otherwise apolitical Catholics see it as anti-Catholic and supremacist. Irish tricolour flags burnt on Eleventh Night bonfires, the lyrics of Orange Order ballads, and Orange marches deliberately routed through Catholic communities and neighbourhoods, have all been especially controversial and considered to be deeply insulting. The Drumcree conflict is the most well-known recent parading issue 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.