Up Helly Aa refers to any of a variety of fire festivals held in Shetland, in Scotland, annually in the middle of winter to mark the end of the yule season. The festival involves a procession of up to a thousandguizers in Lerwick and considerably lower numbers in the more rural festivals, formed into squads who march through the town or village in a variety of themed costumes.
Originating in the 1880s Up-Helly-Aa in the Shetland town of Lerwick, has been an annual occurrence for centuries, taking place on the last Tuesday of January every year.this northern Mardi Gras is a celebration of Shetland history, a triumphant demonstration of the islanders’ spirit and a superb spectacle which his gained worldwide recognition as Europe’s biggest fire festival.
The event has only been cancelled three years in its long-standing history for the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 and during the First and Second World War, showing Up-Helly-Aa has firmly made its mark as an iconic celebration on the Scottish calendar.