In Scotland's Shetland Islands, a fire festival named Up Helly Aa takes place every January to mark the end of the yule season. The festival has been on hold for the past two years due to COVID-19 restrictions but was held again this year. Local participants, called guizers, celebrate their Norse heritage by dressing in Viking gear and marching through the town of Lerwick with battle axes and torches, dragging a ceremonial Viking longboat with them. At the end of the procession, the guizers hurl their flaming torches onto the longboat and set it ablaze. Gathered below are images from several Up Helly Aa processions over the past 20 years.
The Up Helly Aa Viking Fire Festival
Hints:
View this page full screen.
Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.
-
![A Viking ship decorated with the head of a dragon is engulfed in flames.]()
Read moreA Viking longboat burns during the annual Up Helly Aa festival in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, on January 28, 2014. #
Andy Buchanan / AFP / Getty -
-
![Dozens of men dressed in Viking costumes march in a street.]()
Read moreMembers of Guizer Jarl Neil Moncrieff's squad march in the morning procession of Up Helly Aa 2023 in Lerwick, Scotland, on January 31, 2023. #
Euan Cherry / Getty -
![A man wearing a winged Viking helmet]()
Read moreA member of the Jarl squad makes his way through Lerwick during the start of the festival on the Shetland Islands, on January 25, 2005. #
Jeff J Mitchell / Reuters -
![Dozens of men and boys in Viking costumes pose for a photo beside and on a longboat.]()
Read moreParticipants dressed as Vikings pose by a longboat during the annual Up Helly Aa festival in Lerwick on January 31, 2017. #
Andy Buchanan / AFP / Getty -
-
![A crowd of people marches, carrying lit torches.]()
Read moreGuizers walk in a torchlit procession during the evening procession of Up Helly Aa on January 31, 2023. #
Euan Cherry / Getty -
![Men wearing Viking costumes march while carrying torches.]()
Read moreParticipants take part in the Up Helly Aa parade on January 31, 2023. #
Andy Buchanan / AFP / Getty -
![People in Viking costumes light torches.]()
Read moreThe Jarl squad begins to light torches on January 31, 2017, in Lerwick. #
Jeff J Mitchell / Getty -
-
![A night view of a procession of marchers walking along a road carrying torches]()
Read moreGuizers parade through the town to gather at the longship in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, on January 29, 2019. #
Andy Buchanan / AFP / Getty -
![A line of young people dressed in Viking costumes and carrying torches]()
Read moreYoung participants parade through the streets of Lerwick on January 31, 2023, as they take part in the Junior Up Helly Aa fire festival. #
Andy Buchanan / AFP / Getty -
![Marchers carry torches beside a Viking longboat.]()
Read moreParticipants take part in the Up Helly Aa festival parade on January 31, 2023. #
Andy Buchanan / AFP / Getty -
-
![Young people dressed in Viking costumes carry torches.]()
Read moreA young participant takes part in the Junior Up Helly Aa fire festival on January 31, 2023. #
Andy Buchanan / AFP / Getty -
![Marchers carry torches in a circle around a Viking longboat.]()
Read moreParticipants dressed as Vikings prepare to burn their longboat on January 31, 2017. #
Andy Buchanan / AFP / Getty -
![Marchers carry torches beside a Viking longboat.]()
Read moreParticipants march beside a longboat on January 31, 2023. #
Andy Buchanan / AFP / Getty -
-
![People in costume are silhouetted against the flames of a burning Viking longboat.]()
Read moreLocals dressed in costume are silhouetted against a burning Viking longboat on January 28, 2003. #
Jeff J Mitchell / Reuters -
![Marchers carry torches near a Viking longboat.]()
Read moreParticipants dressed as Vikings process around a burning longboat on January 26, 2016. #
Andy Buchanan / AFP / Getty -
![Men wearing Viking costumes are silhouetted against flames from a burning longboat.]()
Read moreA longboat is burned to mark the end of the procession of Up Helly Aa in Lerwick, on January 31, 2023. #
Euan Cherry / Getty -
-
![A person wearing a winged Viking helmet stands amid others carrying torches.]()
Read moreA member of the Viking Jarl Squad is illuminated by burning torches on January 26, 2010. #
Carl De Souza / AFP / Getty -
![Flames engulf the dragon's head of a Viking longboat.]()
Read moreFlames engulf the dragon's head of a Viking longboat during the Up Helly Aa fire festival in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland, on January 29, 2013. #
David Moir / Reuters
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to [email protected].