Britain
The ceremony takes place in Lerwick, far north in the Shetland Isles. Lerwick is the northernmost town in Britain. It is one of the first of the many eccentric ceremonies and rituals that take place throughout Britain each year. The others will include chasing after a cheese that's rolling down a hill, bog snorkelling, counting the number of swans on the Thames and burning an effigy of the Pope.
The Times
January 31, 2007
Fireman leads 1,000 islanders in Viking festival to burn boat
LERWICK A modern day Viking warrior takes part in a festival to celebrate Shetland’s past, in the climax of Up Helly Aa, the annual fire festival.
More than a thousand islanders marched through Lerwick led by the “Guizer Jarl”, Graham Nicholson, 42, a retained firefighter who works at the town’s waste plant.
His task was to choose the adornments on the Viking clothing and the colour scheme of the ship before it sailed through Lerwick on a float, with the Jarl squad and 1,000 other “guizers” in disguises, bearing more than 1,000 paraffin torches.
The street lights were dimmed, and the Viking ship embarked for its final destination: King George V Playing Field.
There the revellers toss their torches into the galley, which burns to a cinder, and the populace disperses to town halls to party into the night.
Among the Viking warriors celebrating with their personal shields were Tavish Stock, Scotland’s Transport Minister, and Alistair Carmichael, the Orkney and Shetland MP.
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The annual Up Helly Aa, Shetland Islands, Scotland, Great Britain
The replica of the Viking longship is burnt to a crisp. Lerwick's inhabitants then disperse to town halls to party (i.e drink copious amounts of alcohol) and then will do the same thing next year. The ceremony always takes place on the last Tuesday of January and women are not allowed to take part.
dailymail.co.uk
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In depth
Up Helly Aa is any of a variety of fire festivals held in Shetland annually in the middle of winter. The festival involves a procession of guizers (or guisers) formed into squads processing through the town or village in a variety of themed costumes.
The first celebration was in 1878, when instead of burning the usual tar-barrel on Auld New Years Eve as they did for centuries, a Shetland yoal (a traditional boat) decorated with a dragon's head and tail was burned. It did not become a regular event until 1889.
There is a main guizer who is dubbed the "Jarl". There is a committee which you must be part of for fifteen years before you can be a jarl, and only one person is elected onto this committee once a year.
This procession culminates in the torches being thrown into a replica Viking longship or galley. The event happens all over towns in Shetland, but it is only the Lerwick galley which is not sent seaward.
Everywhere else, the galley is sent seabound, in an echo of actual Viking sea burials.
After the procession the squads visit local halls (this includes Schools, Sports Facilities and Hotels) where private parties are held. At each hall each squad performs its act, this may be a send-up of a popular TV show or film, a skit on local events, or singing or dancing, usually in flamboyant costume.
Due to the often flamboyant costumes and the large quantity of males dressing up as females, it has earned the joke name 'Transvestite Tuesday'.
The ceremony takes place in Lerwick, far north in the Shetland Isles. Lerwick is the northernmost town in Britain. It is one of the first of the many eccentric ceremonies and rituals that take place throughout Britain each year. The others will include chasing after a cheese that's rolling down a hill, bog snorkelling, counting the number of swans on the Thames and burning an effigy of the Pope.
The Times
January 31, 2007
Fireman leads 1,000 islanders in Viking festival to burn boat
LERWICK A modern day Viking warrior takes part in a festival to celebrate Shetland’s past, in the climax of Up Helly Aa, the annual fire festival.
More than a thousand islanders marched through Lerwick led by the “Guizer Jarl”, Graham Nicholson, 42, a retained firefighter who works at the town’s waste plant.
His task was to choose the adornments on the Viking clothing and the colour scheme of the ship before it sailed through Lerwick on a float, with the Jarl squad and 1,000 other “guizers” in disguises, bearing more than 1,000 paraffin torches.
The street lights were dimmed, and the Viking ship embarked for its final destination: King George V Playing Field.
There the revellers toss their torches into the galley, which burns to a cinder, and the populace disperses to town halls to party into the night.
Among the Viking warriors celebrating with their personal shields were Tavish Stock, Scotland’s Transport Minister, and Alistair Carmichael, the Orkney and Shetland MP.
----------------------------------------------------
The annual Up Helly Aa, Shetland Islands, Scotland, Great Britain
The replica of the Viking longship is burnt to a crisp. Lerwick's inhabitants then disperse to town halls to party (i.e drink copious amounts of alcohol) and then will do the same thing next year. The ceremony always takes place on the last Tuesday of January and women are not allowed to take part.
dailymail.co.uk
---------------------------------
In depth
Up Helly Aa is any of a variety of fire festivals held in Shetland annually in the middle of winter. The festival involves a procession of guizers (or guisers) formed into squads processing through the town or village in a variety of themed costumes.
The first celebration was in 1878, when instead of burning the usual tar-barrel on Auld New Years Eve as they did for centuries, a Shetland yoal (a traditional boat) decorated with a dragon's head and tail was burned. It did not become a regular event until 1889.
There is a main guizer who is dubbed the "Jarl". There is a committee which you must be part of for fifteen years before you can be a jarl, and only one person is elected onto this committee once a year.
This procession culminates in the torches being thrown into a replica Viking longship or galley. The event happens all over towns in Shetland, but it is only the Lerwick galley which is not sent seaward.
Everywhere else, the galley is sent seabound, in an echo of actual Viking sea burials.
After the procession the squads visit local halls (this includes Schools, Sports Facilities and Hotels) where private parties are held. At each hall each squad performs its act, this may be a send-up of a popular TV show or film, a skit on local events, or singing or dancing, usually in flamboyant costume.
Due to the often flamboyant costumes and the large quantity of males dressing up as females, it has earned the joke name 'Transvestite Tuesday'.
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