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Up Helly Aa might sound like an obscurely rude greeting, but is actually the name of any of a variety of Viking fire festivals held in Shetland around the middle of winter. The biggest Up Helly Aa festival is the one held at Lerwick festival on the last Tuesday in January. Not only is it the largest of the festivals, it's different in other ways too: Lerwick is the only Up Helly Aa location where traditionally no women are allowed to take part - which may explain the large number of men dressed as females and the joke name 'Transvestite Tuesday'. It's also the only one in that the replica Viking longship which is burned at the culmination of the procession is not sent seaward in an echo of actual Viking sea burials.
 Up Helly Aa might sound like an obscurely rude greeting, but is actually the name of any of a variety of Viking fire festivals held in Shetland around the middle of winter. The biggest Up Helly Aa festival is the one held at Lerwick festival on the last Tuesday in January. Not only is it the largest of the festivals, it's different in other ways too: Lerwick is the only Up Helly Aa location where traditionally no women are allowed to take part - which may explain the large number of men dressed as females and the joke name 'Transvestite Tuesday'. It's also the only one in that the replica Viking longship which is burned at the culmination of the procession is not sent seaward in an echo of actual Viking sea burials.
Despite the Viking longboat and the hordes of men running about in horned helmets, chain mail and axes, Up Helly Aa has no authentic Viking origin. The first celebration took place in 1878 as a means of curbing the traditionally raucous Christmas and New Year celebrations which involved burning tar barrels, firing guns and spreading tar on doors and windows. Instead, a Shetland yoal (traditional boat) decorated with a dragon's head and tail was burned. Up Helly Aa did not become a regular event until 1889, and the festival has continued to grow in size and popularity ever since. As for the name? According to the locals, it was simply improvised. Travel Information for Lerwick and Shetland:For Shetlanders, there's only one place to stop, meet and do business and that's "da toon", LERWICK ; it's home to about 7500 people, roughly a third of the islands' population. All year, its sheltered harbour at the heart of the town is busy with ferries, fishing boats, oil-rig supply vessels and a variety of more specialized craft including seismic survey and naval vessels from all round the North Sea. In summer, the quaysides come alive with local pleasure craft, visiting yachts, cruise liners, historic vessels such as the restored Swan , and the occasional tall sailing ship. Behind the old harbour is the compact town centre, made up of one long main street, Commercial Street; from here, narrow lanes, known as " closses ", rise westwards to the late-Victorian new town. The Town
Lerwick's attractive, flagstone-clad Commercial Street is still very much the core of the town. Its narrow, winding form, set back one block from the Esplanade, provides shelter from the elements even on the worst days, and is where locals...
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