Check out this fiery Viking festival in Shetland
- Published
It was an un-fire-gettable night in Lerwick this week as their world-famous fire festival filled the streets with flames and smoke.
It's called Up Helly Aa, and usually takes place on the last Tuesday of January every year.
The festival celebrates the island of Shetland's Viking heritage.
It sees hundreds of people parading down the street in costume, carrying flaming torches, and ends with a big Viking longboat being set ablaze.
First thing's first though - don't try any of this at home!
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The procession is split into more than 40 groups called 'squads', and it's the juniors who go up first.
Thousands of people travel from all over the world to watch the processions in Lerwick on the Scottish island of Shetland.
The main group is the Jarl Squad, led by a chief called the Guizer Jarl. The 61 people in the group become Vikings for the day, wearing custom made suits and shields, and wielding axes.
They spend all year building a replica Viking longboat galled a Galley, and at the end of the night they set it on fire.
This year, the ship was named Byssen.
The Viking age was from about AD700 to 1100. Many Vikings left their homes in Scandinavia and travelled by longboat to other countries like Scotland. The name 'Viking' comes from a language called 'Old Norse'. It means 'a pirate raid'.
It's a long day and night - even Vikings need to have a rest!
