The annual Viking-inspired fire festival of Up Helly Aa, described by organizers as “a northern Mardi Gras,” was held in the town of Lerwick in Scotland’s Shetland Islands on Tuesday, January 28.The festival involves a torchlit procession led by a “Guizer Jarl,” or Chief Viking, and a “Jarl Squad,” which lights a replica longship by throwing torches into it. Footage here shows the procession through Lerwick.The present form of Up Helly Aa dates back around 140 years, but the traditions of the festival, including the procession and galley-burning, go back “12 centuries or more” and are linked to ancient Norse rituals marking the sun’s return after winter, according to Promote Shetland, which helps organize the event.Before the 19th century, the event was “often riotous” and law enforcement would be summoned “to curb trigger-happy drunks firing guns in the air” or to stop people “dragging a blazing tar barrel through the streets,” they said. Credit: Cute Blogger via Storyful