Today 1,000's of the residents of the Shetland Islands celebrate the festival of Up Helly Aa to mark the 500 years of Norse occupation of the Island.s The 'fire festival' formally begun in 1870 to replace a much larger and riskier celebration. The holiday is a historical Viking tradition that marks the end of the Christmas season. Wearing traditional viking garb, participants march in a torch-lite parade, set fire to a traditional Viking long boat, and then head out to various venues for parties, skits and considerable drinking. Tomorrow is an official holiday to allow for recovery.
No comments:
Post a Comment