The Twelfth (also called Orangemens' Day)[1] is a primarily Ulster Protestant celebration held on 12 July.

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.

Since its beginning, the Twelfth has been accompanied by violence between Ulster Protestants and Catholics, especially during times of political tension.

Recently there have been attempts to draw tourists to the main Twelfth parades and present them as family-friendly pageants.

Early celebrations were 23 October, the anniversary of the 1641 rebellion (an attempted coup d'état by Catholic gentry who tried to seize control of the English administration in Ireland); and 4 November, the birthday of William of Orange, Protestant victor of the Williamite war in the 1690s.

[2] The first reason for this was the British switch to the Gregorian calendar in 1752, which repositioned the nominal date of the Battle of the Boyne to 11 July New Style (N.S.)

It has also been suggested that in the 1790s (a time of Roman Catholic resurgence) the Boyne, where the Jacobites were routed, was more appealing to the Order than Aughrim, where they had fought hard and died in great numbers.

In the weeks leading up to the Twelfth, Orange Order and other Ulster loyalist marching bands hold numerous parades in Northern Ireland.

From June to August, Protestant, unionist areas of Northern Ireland are bedecked with flags and bunting, which are usually flown from lampposts and houses.

They are built mostly of wooden pallets and lumber by local young men and boys in the weeks before the Twelfth.

[7] During the Troubles, loyalist paramilitaries used bonfire events to hold "shows of strength", in which masked gunmen fired volleys into the air.

The parade usually begins at an Orange Hall, proceeds through the town or city and out to a large park or field where the marchers, their friends and family, and the general public gather to eat, drink and listen to speeches by clergymen, politicians and senior members of the Order.

In rural districts the parade will rotate around various towns, sometimes favouring those in which there is less likely to be trouble, but in other years choosing those in which it is felt the 'right to march' needs to be defended.

In Northern Ireland, there is a long tradition of Protestant and loyalist marching bands, which can be found in most towns.

Orangemen on parade typically wear a dark suit, an Orange sash, white gloves and a bowler hat.

Both the Orangemen and bands carry elaborate banners depicting Orange heroes, historic or Biblical scenes, and/or political symbols and slogans.

[12] At the field, some lodges and bands don humorous outfits or accessories and make the return journey in them, and the mood is generally more mellow, although in times of tension it can also be more aggressive.

In Northern Ireland, where around half the population is from an Irish Catholic background, the Twelfth is a tense time.

Many people see these marches as sectarian, triumphalist,[13][14][15][16] supremacist,[16][17][18][19] and an assertion of British and Ulster Protestant dominance.

[39] On the Twelfth in 1998, during the Drumcree conflict, three young boys were killed when loyalists firebombed their house in Ballymoney.

When Orangemen marched past the shop that 12 July, some marchers held up five fingers in mockery of the five dead.

[48] However, the march's popularity has drastically diminished in recent years, as only about 500 people participate in modern Orange parades.

[50] An increase in membership in recent years has seen a revival of the Order in Australia and an annual Twelfth of July parade is currently held in Adelaide.