On the last Tuesday of January a boat that has been crafted for a whole year is torched in a spectacular display. The noise and flames grab hold of you and transport you to a time before mobile phones and the internet (ok, well maybe it would if we weren't all busy taking pictures on our smartphones). Welcome to our first Up Helly Aa at Lerwick, Shetland Islands:
And here's some snaps done by the professionals:
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Photo by Andrew Milligan
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It was spectacular! The festival began in the 1880s to celebrate the close of the Yule season. The Islanders celebrate this day no matter how fowl the weather; only cancelling the event in dire circumstance e.g. death of Queen Victoria and World Wars 1 & 2. A citizen is announced as the Guizer Jarl who is the head honcho and leads the Vikings for the day. The event only comprises males of the Island and they dress up in all sorts of guises (I spotted a few Pikachu's within the procession). After carrying the Viking Galley along a marked route throughout the day - dropping into a few locations to delight with their chosen ballad. They make their way to the burning site for the main event. After the Galley has been obliterated the procession's make their way to individual halls to perform skits for revellers straight through to 8am the following morning (I only lasted till 1 am [hangs head in shame]). It was here that all the strange costumes began to make sense, as until that moment I thought it was purely to do with Vikings.
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Photo by: Andrew Milligan
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