Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Isle of Man getty This Friday (July 5th), as the UK wakes up to a new government, a tiny British island in the middle of the Irish Sea will be celebrating Tynwald Day, dedicated to the oldest parliament in the world. Just an hour’s flight from England’s largest cities, the Isle of Man is a 33-mile-long British Crown dependency boasting a rich 10,000-year-old history, from Celtic tribes to Norse Vikings, and its ruling under the Scandinavian Kings of Dublin. Established by the Vikings over 1,000 years ago, Tynwald Day (coming from ‘Old Norse Thingvöllr’ meaning meeting place ) is celebrated on July 5th each year with a mammoth of processions and a ceremony held at the historic four-tiered Tynwald Hill in St Johns — at 12 feet high, with ancient graves and a temple dedicated to the Norse god Thor, where members of the Manx parliament including the Lieutenant Governor, the President of Tynwald and Yn Lhaihder, gather to publicly proclaim laws in both English and Manx Gaelic.
Tynwald Hill Allan Brown Locals gather for Manx folk dancing, with a ‘Grand Manx Dance’ bringing together the Island’s dance groups, and give offerings of rushes to the shape-shifting sea God, Manannan, the legendary first ruler of the Isle of Man, wearing bollan bane pinned to their chests (a plant said to have the powers to ward off evil spirits). MORE FOR YOU Fed’s ‘Critical’ Warning Sparks Serious $50,000 Bitcoin Price Crash Ale.
