Shetland's "Up Helly Aa" Fire Festival Looks Like The Best Festival On Earth

A yearly tradition in the Shetland Islands, where people dress up as Vikings and set alight to a longship, to celebrate the end of the Christmas season.

What do you do if you live in the Shetland Islands on the last Tuesday of January? Well you dress up like this...

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Lots of your friends dress up up like this. You're all VIKINGS.

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PROUD VIKING WARRIORS.

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It's also cold in the Shetlands, like really really cold, so you're probably happy to be wearing so many layers.

Then you find a torch and set it alight.

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How many torches are there? More than a THOUSAND.

You hold it above your head like the proud Viking you are.

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Look at you, with a proud Viking beard and everything.

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Then after marching throughout the town you find a Viking longship.

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The town is in darkness as all of the streetlights are turned off, so the torches can really glow.

You march around it with all of your Viking mates.

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And then after you've marched around it for a bit (and after a bit of a singalong), you throw your torches into the ship AND SET THE WHOLE SHIP ON FIRE.

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THE ACTUAL WHOLE THING ON FIRE.

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BURN BABY BURN.

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What then follows? Hours of dances and performances in nearby halls, followed by a public holiday the next day so everyone can recover. This is the best holiday ever.

BEST. HOLIDAY. EVER.

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