An old farm in the Shetland Islands, Scotland
© Michael Runkel/Getty Image
Shetland marks the end of yule. A winter’s holiday ends
Should you find yourself in Lerwick, Scotland on the last Tuesday of January, you’ll witness a celebration to mark the end of yule called Up Helly Aa. Here on the Shetland Islands, off the northern coast of Britain, the cultural influence of the Vikings is still felt. And when the Yule season comes to a close, many Shetlanders dress up like Vikings—a tradition called ‘guising,’ short for ‘disguise’—and march the streets of Lerwick in a parade of song, comedic performance, and ultimately a torchlight procession that ends with the torches setting a fake Viking galley ship ablaze. The name ‘Up Helly Aa’ is roughly translated as Up Holy All, an invitation for all to rise and join in the holiday revelry.
Related Images
108 Shiva temple, Kalna, Bardhaman district, West Bengal
'El Problema del Caballo' by Claudia Fontes in Venice, Italy
For Waitangi Day, the Pancake Rocks on New Zealand’s South Island
The Rang Mahal palace inside the Red Fort, New Delhi
At the Arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman Forum for the ides of March
Meditation domes at the Beatles Ashram in Rishikesh, India
A carving of artist W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp in the Pura Meduwe Karang temple in Bali, Indonesia
At Casa Batlló for Saint Jordi’s Day in Barcelona, Spain
Bing Today Images
Dragon dance, Wuhan, China
Jan 29, 2025
Gollinger Waterfalls, Tennengau, Salzburg, Austria
Jan 29, 2024
Blackbird in Essex, England
Jan 29, 2023
Semuc Champey nature park in Guatemala
Jan 29, 2020
