BY TIM CHESTER From Mashable

LONDON — Hundreds of people dressed as Vikings descended on Lerwick in Shetland [in January last year] for the annual Up Helly Aa fire festival.

A replica Viking longship was torched as part of the celebrations, which celebrate the island’s Norse heritage.

Although the festival is based on Viking tradition, it actually only dates back as far as the 1880s. With a handful of exceptions it’s been held every year since.

The event, which was months in the making, saw a band of warriors known as the Jarl Squad march through the town.

Hundreds of costumed “guizers” joined them, carrying flaming torches which were thrown into the ship.

A lot of work goes into Up Helly Aa. The specially chosen members of the Jarl Squad have to design and make their own suits, which differ every year. The shields have also been different every year since the squad’s birth in 1920.

Each warrior makes their own weapon, which have included axes, swords, spears, daggers, bows and crossbows in the past.

IMAGES:
Shetland_c.e2799 Members of the Jarl Squad dressed in Viking costumes, hold flaming torches as they stand in an ‘Viking longship” during the Up Helly Aa Viking festival.IMAGE: DANNY LAWSON/PA WIRE/PRESS ASSOCIATION IMAGES

Thousands brave cold to attend Shetland’s Up Helly Aa fire festival STV News

Members of the Jarl Squad dressed in Viking costumes, hold flaming torches during the Up Helly Aa Viking festival, in Lerwick on the Shetland Isles. IMAGE: DANNY LAWSON/PA WIRE/PRESS ASSOCIATION IMAGES

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