The Ba' Game

The Ba' Game is a mass ball game played on Christmas Day and New Year's Day through the streets of Kirkwall, Orkney. Two teams of hundreds — the "Uppies" and "Doonies" — try to force a leather ball to their end of town: the corner of a wall (Uppies) or the harbour (Doonies). Games last several hours; the winning team names one of its players the day's "winner" of the ball.