there will be countless parades across the street Northern Ireland today as protestant loyal orders celebrate the twelfth of july.
On Monday night, about 250 bonfires were lit in loyalist communities across the region to mark the most important date on the parade calendar.
Police said they were gathering evidence after receiving a number of complaints about election posters and effigies being placed on bonfires.
The Twelfth Parades, which are organized by the Orange Order, commemorate the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
The battle that took place at the Boyne River north of Dublinsaw Protestant King William of Orange defeat Catholic King James II to secure a Protestant line of succession British Crown.
Thousands of Orange Lodge members parade through the summer months to mark William’s victory and other important dates in Protestant/unionist/loyalist culture.
Those celebrations culminate on the Twelfth – the anniversary of the Boyne meeting.
The routes of certain Orange parades became intense points of friction during the Troubles, often leading to widespread rioting and violence.
The disputes mostly centered on whether Orange lodges should have the right to parade through nationalist areas.
While the Orangemen insisted they had the right to parade on public roads along long-established traditional routes, nationalist residents protested what they characterized as displays of sectarian triumphalism sweeping through their neighborhoods.
The number of hot spots has decreased considerably in the peace process years.
The run-up to the Twelfth of this year was easily accessible and lacked the tension and rancor of previous years.
On July 12, there are 573 loyal order parades. Of these, 33 follow routes that are considered vulnerable.
The Northern Ireland Police Service (PSNI) on the Twelfth, their busiest and most resource-intensive day of the year.
There will be 2,500 police officers on the Twelfth, which is about a third of the strength of the PSNI.