Held each January to celebrate Shetland’s rich Viking heritage, the fiery Up Helly Aa festival is a truly remarkable sight.
Originating in the 1880s, Up Helly Aa is a community fire festival which takes place in Lerwick, on the last Tuesday in January.
It is believed that the name, Up Helly Aa is derived from the old Norse word Uppi, indicating the end of something, helly, referring to a holy day or festival and aa, meaning all.
Although the night-time burning of the galley may be the most spectacular sight, the celebrations start early in the day and involve Shetlanders of all ages.
The first glimpse of the Guizer Jarl and Jarl Squad can be caught as they march through Lerwick visiting the British Legion, Market Cross, Town Hall, Bressay Ferry Terminal and Shetland Museum.
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- Gary Tulloch prepares the galley for the procession (Photo: Angus Blackburn)
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- The galley shed houses the construction of the longship and the torches for the procession (Photo: Angus Blackburn)
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- Guizer Jarl, Ivor Cluness leads the Jarl Squad. (Photo: Angus Blackburn)
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- Don Laurenson and partner in full swing on the dance floor. (Photo: Angus Blackburn)
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- Even the youngest members of the community join in with Up Helly Aa (Photo: Angus Blackburn)
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- Party time at Bell’s Brae Primary School (Photo: Angus Blackburn)
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- A fiery glow signals the arrival of the Jarl Squad. (Photo: Angus Blackburn)
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- Television presenter Neil Oliver gets into the Viking spirit (Photo: Angus Blackburn)
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- Sparks will fly (Photo: Angus Blackburn)
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- The Jarl Squad hold their torches aloft in the night sky. (Photo: Angus Blackburn)
As darkness falls torches are lit and the junior Guizer Jarl leads the squad of youngsters to burn the ‘peerie’ galley before the senior Guizer Jarl steps up to lead his squad from the helm of their galley, flanked by over 900 torches, to the burning site at the King George V playing field. These torches will eventually be thrown into the galley to set it alight.
Celebrations go on long into the night, so much so that the following day is declared a public holiday in Lerwick to allow participants the chance to recover.
Although there is little time to rest as preparations for the following year’s festival begin in February in order to accommodate the long hours of work that go into putting together the galley to be burned once again.
For more information on the festival visit: www.uphellyaa.org
(This feature was originally published in 2015)
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