Let's admire the beautiful photos of British photographer Stella Muir at the Viking festival that took place at the end of January in Scotland.
This year, Up Helly Aa takes place at 8:30 am on January 31.
More than 1,000 Guizers - the name of local volunteers dressed in Viking armor - attended the festival, dancing, drinking, singing, parading with thousands of burning torches, performing ship burning rituals... and many other unique cultural activities.
These Viking groups, called Jarls, were led by a Guizer, and spent the day marching through Lerwick, the capital of the Shetland Islands in Scotland. Their final destination was the riverbank, where they burned a Viking ship together.
The 9.2 meter long ship, modeled after the Viking ships of old, was meticulously crafted by volunteers. To make the burning event more impressive, the city's street lights were turned off very early. Every time the ship was burned, the whole city seemed to be ablaze.
As the ship burned, the crew returned to the town hall area and drank, danced, and sang until the sun rose.
