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
Peggy's Cove Lighthouse at dusk, Nova Scotia
Shoreline near Tofino on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China
Bioluminescent algae along the shores of the Matsu Islands off the coast of Taiwan
For Waitangi Day, the Pancake Rocks on New Zealand’s South Island
Cefalù on Mediterranean Sea in Sicily, Italy
Siberian Snowkiting Cup in Novosibirsk, Russia
La Digue, an island in the Seychelles
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
A common raven
Jan 29, 2016
