ABSTRACT
The Twelfth of July is the most important date of the year for Ulster Protestants. Each year the Orange Order organizes 18 major parades to celebrate the victory at the Boyne in 1690. Private lodges, the lowest level of the hierarchy, are organized around churches, places of residence or workplaces. The officers of private lodges meet together at district level to organize church and mini-Twelfth parades, and the districts are in turn organized at county level: the Belfast districts form one county, those of the City of Londonderry another, and the six others follow the county boundaries. The author focuses on the role the Orange celebrations play in creating a sense of community among the Protestants of Belfast. Therefore, rather than analyzing the Twelfth as a single day of commemoration and celebration, it needs to be considered as an extended ritual process, of variable length and complexity. Church parades focus attention on to the religious principles that underpin the institution.
