Tynwald Day
Published: 06 July 2012
Tynwald Day 2012 was a huge success with thousands of people in the Isle of Man enjoying a mixture of parliamentary ritual and ceremony, family fun and homecoming.
In the morning Mannannin's cloak had clothed the isle in Manx mist, but the sun broke through just as the main event got underway making the 5th of July a special day of National holiday for the islanders.
Tynwald Hill is a highly significant living and working thing site. Once a year the Manx parliament returns to the original meeting place for an open air ceremony incorporating many elements which have remained virtually unchanged for almost a century.
Following the procession from the Royal Chapel of St John to Tynwald Hill, 20 Acts were read out in both English and Manx, before three islanders presented petitions for redress of grievance at the hill. The afternoon was full of all the fun of the fair - Vikings, musicians, dancers and clowns all entertaining the assembled crowds at St John's.