Sometimes referred to simply as The Twelfth, this is the anniversary of the Battle of Boyne. After James II, who was Roman Catholic, was deposed in 1668 by William of Orange, a Protestant, each side raised an army and clashed on the banks of the Boyne River. The Protestants won a decisive victory and formed the Orange Order, committed to maintaining the link with Protestant England. As Irishmen left Ireland and England for the New World, lodges of Orangemen were formed in Canada and the United States, where Orange Day is still observed by Protestant Irish. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary