Started in 1870, the festival of Up Helly Aa celebrates the influence of the Scandinavian Vikings in the Shetland Islands, located off the north coast of Scotland. Starting with a parade through the streets of the town of Lerwick, members of the Viking Jarl Squad then surround their leader or 'Guizer Jarl' on a life-sized replica of a Viking longship. The celebrations reach a climax when the 1000 participants in full Viking costume, called 'guizers', throw flaming torches into a Viking ship, burning it to ashes