On Shetland, a group of islands to the far north of Scotland, there is a unique annual festival known as "Up Helly Aa." Since 1881 it has celebrated the islands' Viking history and is an incredible sight with costumes, a parade by torchlight, and the burning of a specially made longship. The festival is always held between January and March to mark the end of Yule (an old Scottish word for Christmas).

In fact, Up Helly Aa is not one festival but 12. The main festival takes place in Lerwick, the capital of Shetland, while the other 11 are held around the islands. Each event features guizers, who walk down the street with burning torches, and a main guizer called a Jarl. The person who takes this honored role must have 15 years' experience. Each year, the Jarl dresses as a different character from Viking history—but this character must be kept secret until the night of Up Helly Aa.

Another thing that happens in secret is the building of the longship. Volunteers spend months constructing the ship, also known as a galley, so it can be revealed and set alight on the night of the festival. After nightfall, guizers drag the longship through the streets with the Jarl standing on top of it. When they reach their destination the Jarl jumps down, music plays, and the guizers throw their torches into the ship.

In recent years, Up Helly Aa has hit the news for the wrong reasons. For a long time, women were not allowed to be guizers, which many people thought was unfair. Although the smaller events now allow this—2015 even saw the first female Jarl—the main festival in Lerwick does not. Another problem was the tradition of blackface—covering the face with black paint—which was criticized as racist and banned from 2020.

薛特蘭群島在蘇格蘭的極北方，擁有獨特的年度慶典「聖火節」。自1881 年起，聖火節即以扮裝、火炬遊行及燃燒特製長船的絕妙景象歡慶該群島的維京歷史。聖火節向來在一月與三月之間舉辦，用以代表「Yule」（此為蘇格蘭古語，意指「耶誕節」）的結束。

事實上，聖火節並非單一節慶，而是12場節慶。主要節慶在薛特蘭的首府勒威克進行，其他11場節慶則在群島各處舉辦。每場盛事都會有維京海盜裝扮者，帶著燃燒的火炬遊街，而主導人稱為「首領」。能扮演此榮譽角色的人，必須擁有15年的資歷。每年首領都會扮成維京歷史上的不同人物─但是必須保密此人物的身分，直到聖火節當晚才能揭曉。

另一件秘密進行的事，就是建造長船。志工會耗費數月的時間來建造此船（亦稱為槳帆船），才能在節慶當晚曝光與燒船。入夜之後，維京海盜裝扮者會拖著長船穿越街頭，首領則會站在船上。抵達目的地時，首領會跳下來，音樂開始響起，維京海盜裝扮者則將手中火炬丟往船上。

近年來，聖火節卻因為負面因素而上新聞。長期以來，女性不能擔任維京海盜裝扮者，讓許多人認為這是不公平的待遇。雖然較小型的盛事已允許女性參加─2015年甚至第一次出現女性首領─但勒威克的主要節慶仍不允許。另一個問題就是黑臉傳統─也就是將臉部塗滿黑色油彩─此舉被批評為種族歧視，而在2020年遭到禁止。