As they do every year, hordes of Viking "guizers" are set to swarm all over Lerwick, Shetland at the end of this month for a blazing riot of a knees up.
If you thought they'd had enough fire festivals in Scotland during New Years/Hogmanay, you've underestimated the Northern taste for flaming celebrations during the long nights of winter. Up Helly Aa in Lerwick, Shetland - this year on Tuesday, January 26 - is the biggie. This "Viking" revelry is Europe's biggest fire festival, an amazing spectacle with thousands of participants.
Its connections with the Vikings are really a load of old codswallop but who cares when its such a good excuse for a 24-hour party. Most of the revellers dress up as Vikings but...hang on a minute, don't I see a mariachi band and some pearly kings in this crowd?
Find out more about Up Helly Aa.
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