Aphelio (Up-Helly-Aa)

Residents dress up as Vikings, light torches, march through the streets.In the ninth century, the Vikings landed on the Shetland Islands, near the coast of Scotland, opening a new page in the history of the islands. This event is dedicated to the famous traditionally Scottish holiday Up-Helly-aa in the main city of the Shetland Islands Lerwick.

The inhabitants of Lerwick make a 30-foot model of a Viking ship (with a dragon on the nose), dress up as Vikings, light torches, march through the streets, trumpeting into traditional military horns, and across the city carry the ship to the sea. More than 900 picturesquely dressed participants follow a squad of 40 Vikings and their giant ship to the place where the fire will be lit.

In the evening, a torch procession for the ancient burial of dead soldiers burns a wooden boat of Vikings. On the coast, the ship is burned - 900 burning torches are thrown on the "ancient" ship. It's spectacular! This is the Viking custom for the funeral of warriors and chiefs.

The Scottish land has been raided by the Vikings for quite a long time, so many traditional festivals for this territory bear the imprint of Scandinavian culture. Today, the Scots are proud of a similar history and connection to the famous Scandinavian pirates.

The official date of the festival of torches was recorded only at the beginning of the XIX century - on this day noble men returned from the Napoleonic wars.