Cullivoe, Yell, Shetland Islands, UK

Up Helly Aa takes place in Lerwick, Shetland on the last Tuesday in January every year. The day involves a series of marches and visitations, culminating in a torch lit procession and the burning of a galley.

Fire festivals take place in the darkest months of winter in Shetland. Read an overview of Lerwick Up Helly Aa and what happens on the day!

Delting Up Helly Aa began life as a school festival in 1970, when Brae High School began holding an annual event. This ran until 1982, and the community, deciding they didn’t want to see the festival come to an end entirely, began their own senior version.

For 24 hours on the last Tuesday of January Lerwick is the location of Shetland's biggest annual fire festival.

Up Helly Aa is a Fire Festival which takes place in the Shetland Islands on the last Tuesday in January. For more Information visit - www.uphellyaa.org/

Up Helly Aa is a famous Viking-themed fire festival that actually celebrates the end of Christmas season and its origins date back to the 19th century.

Lerwick Up Helly Aa, held on the last Tuesday in January each year, is Shetland’s Fire Festival Season to celebrate the passing of winter. Similar fiery events take place from early January to the end of March with festivals held in communities all over the islands.

Yesterday, January 30, people in Lerwick, Scotland, celebrated an annual Viking festival known as Up Helly Aa. Up Helly Aa is a variant of the Scottish Gaelic word Uphaliday, meaning end of holiday.

Up Helly Aa Photos | David Gifford Photography

''Up Helly Aa'' takes place in Lerwick, Shetland, on the last Tuesday in January every year. this Europe's largest fire festival dates from 1880 and it is held every year in winter in Shetland Islands to commemorate the great Viking past.

The Shetland Islands come alive each winter with Up Helly Aa, Europe’s largest Viking fire festival celebrating Nordic history and culture."

Yup, Up Helly Aa is as fierce as it looks. Hoards of angry Vikings and their burning ships surround the Shetland Islands on an annual basis; bringing - How To Experience Up Helly Aa: Scotland's Viking Festival - Travel, Travel Advice - Europe, Scotland, Shetland Islands, United Kingdom - Travel, Food and Home Inspiration Blog with door-to-door Travel Planner! - Travel Advice, Travel Inspiration, Home Inspiration, Food Inspiration, Recipes, Photography

A yearly tradition in the Shetland Islands, where people dress up as Vikings and set alight to a longship, to celebrate the end of the Christmas season.

Just one of almost 50 acts on Lerwick's night of the year. Up Helly Aa is great fun!

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Shetland's spectacular annual Up Helly Aa fire festival, which celebrates its Viking heritage, is celebrated with the burning of a replica longship.

The Up Helly Aa Fire Festival in Shetland is unlike anything you’ll experience back home.

Shetland's famous fire festival has women and girls in the torchlit procession for the first time.

Lerwick Up Helly Aa, 2023