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Tynwald Day

Tynwald Day is celebrated as the National Day of the Isle of Man. A necessary part of this are the Manx traditions and customs.

As well as the ancient ceremony itself, a part of the day for those at St. John's is the wearing of bollan bane. This custom is explained in a few stories and folktunes connected to "Themselves"...

On the National Day of the Isle of Man, people wear bollan bane pinned to their chests at the Tynwald fair. Many will see this as a good Manx tradition to uphold but perhaps few will know the origins of the custom...

The herb is traditionally believed to have powers to ward off evil spirits. Of particular concern on the Isle of Man, of course, are "Themselves" (the fairies), who are likely to do you harm if they take a dislike to you. An explanation of this comes in the Manx folktale of the fiddler lost on the hills who overhears the fairies' music...