29-01-2025
Flames Rise as Ship Burned at Viking-Inspired Fire Festival
The annual Viking-inspired fire festival of Up Helly Aa, described by organizers as 'a northern Mardi Gras,' was held in the town of Lerwick in Scotland's Shetland Islands on Tuesday, January 28.
The festival involves a torchlit procession led by a 'Guizer Jarl,' or Chief Viking, and a 'Jarl Squad,' which lights a replica longship by throwing torches into it.
The present form of Up Helly Aa dates back around 140 years, but the traditions of the festival, including the procession and galley-burning, go back '12 centuries or more' and are linked to ancient Norse rituals marking the sun's return after winter, according to Promote Shetland, which helps organize the event.
Before the 19th century, the event was 'often riotous' and law enforcement would be summoned 'to curb trigger-happy drunks firing guns in the air' or to stop people 'dragging a blazing tar barrel through the streets,' they said.
Footage filmed by Mary Domito shows attendees throwing torches into a burning Viking ship. Credit: Mary Domito via Storyful
