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. Marking the end of yule, 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.