Up Helly Aa (41)

Hi, and welcome back. If you read my last post (40) you might be wondering why I would go to the Shetland Islands in the winter. You also might wonder about the name of this post. Well, they are related.

Up Helly Aa is a very interesting festival that happens in the Shetland Islands on the last Tuesday of January. It is actually a festival celebrating their Viking heritage and has nothing at all to do with Scotland. There are three main events on Up Helly Aa.

1. A procession through the town to deliver the galley to the harbor in the morning;
2. A procession through the town at night with torches burning and held high (864) this year);
3. The burning of the galley

In between, before and after there is a lot of drinking and partying. It’s kind of like a combination of the Rose Parade, New Orleans at Mardi Gras and an arsonist’s convention.

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Did I mention the costumes? Well, each Jarl participant makes his own costume., even the armor and the boots. They have a theme, so that they are more or less dressed alike. In addition to torches, they have swords and hatchets. There are other participants, called squads. The first picture is the painter’s squad (I think).

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After the morning procession when they deliver the galley to the harbor, they pose for pictures on it. On the right is the Guizer Jarl, the head guy. The only part of his costume that is not made every year is the helmet. It is very elaborate with black feathers making the wings on both sides. It is interesting to think that there are almost 1000 men loose on the streets with hatchets, swords and burning torches. And there is no crime and no one gets hurt.

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I saw the Guizer Jarl coming out of one of the venues and he agreed to take a photo with me.

Just a note about why a Viking festival in Scotland.

The early historic period was dominated by Scandinavian influences, especially from Norway, and the islands did not become part of Scotland until the 15th century. At that time, King Christian I of Denmark and Norway was in financial trouble and, when his daughter Margaret became engaged to James III of Scotland in 1468, he needed money to pay her dowry. He used Shetland Islands tp pay the dowry by giving them to Scotland. (That is the short story. There is more to it and you can find it on line if you are interested.)

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The only caution we were given is that if it is windy, we should be on the alert for falling ashes and embers. They asked us to please, watch those around us and pat out any ashes or fires we see. Luckily, it was a very calm night and no falling ashes. Also, with all the torches, it was quite warm.

So, Up Helly Aa. It was wonderful to see once. Would I do it again? Probably not. The next time I go to Shetland, it will be in warmer weather so that I can enjoy it more.

Thanks for visiting and I hope to see you again.