Up Helly Aa Squads (Shetland)
In Shetland, communities elect a Guizer Jarl, a Jarl Squad assembles in matching Viking-era costume, a 30-foot galley is built, then on the festival night the squad parades it through town and burns it. Twelve festivals run across the islands from January to March; Lerwick is the largest.
Year-round squad work, costume building, song-writing. Squad membership is identity. The format is small-island community infrastructure at its most theatrical.
12 fire-festival squads led by the original Lerwick festival and supported by a dozen rural/community variants across Shetland's mainland and outer isles. Most rural festivals took shape in the late 20th century.
- Lerwick Up Helly Aa Jarl Squad (1881). Original and most famous Up Helly Aa
- Bressay Up Helly Aa (reborn 1962). Notable mid-century rural revival
- South Mainland Up Helly Aa (2010). Newest senior festival in the system
How this one actually works
The engine of it all is the committee, and the ladder is long: in Lerwick a guizer typically serves around fifteen years on the committee before being elected Guizer Jarl, and only one person gets the nod each year. Once chosen, the Jarl assembles his squad, and the group spends months on the unglamorous work: hammering out a galley, hand-stitching costumes, choosing the year's colours and crest, and rehearsing. On the night, the Jarl Squad leads a torchlit procession of guizers through the streets, and in Lerwick that can mean up to a thousand people carrying flame. After the galley is torched, the real marathon begins: squads spend the small hours touring local halls, schools, and hotels, performing skits, sketches, songs, and dances for each other in a circuit that runs until morning.
The festival grew out of older rowdy Yule fire customs, but the recognisable modern form has a clear starting line: the first organised torch procession on Up Helly Aa Day took place in Lerwick in 1881, and the first purpose-built galley was fabricated and burned in 1889. The Viking dressing came slightly later, shaped heavily by the Shetland writer Haldane Burgess, whose 1894 work The Viking Path and festival song fixed the Norse theme that now defines it. From Lerwick the format spread outward across the islands into the string of community fire festivals held today.
Turning up as a newcomer usually means joining a squad, not watching from the kerb, and the squad is where you get folded in. Expect to be handed jobs early: helping build the galley, learning the act your squad will perform in the halls, and being told firmly what colour your kit is this year. The night is cold, loud, and long, and the point of the hall circuit afterwards is that everyone performs for everyone, so you will end up on a stage in front of your neighbours whether you planned to or not.
Real groups you could walk into
Each is a specific, verified community currently active in this archetype. Use the search and country filter to narrow down.
Lerwick Up Helly Aa Jarl Squad
The original and largest Up Helly Aa, held the last Tuesday of January in Shetland's capital. Up to 1,000 guizers march in ~50 squads, but only the Guizer Jarl's Squad dresses as Vikings, embodying a chosen Norse 'Saga' figure. To become Jarl, a man (and since 2022, women) must serve 15 years on the Up Helly Aa Committee.
Lerwick Junior Up Helly Aa
Junior version of the Lerwick festival, held the last Tuesday in January (same day as senior). Founded in 1956 by Anderson High woodwork teacher Tammie Moncrieff and headteacher GW Blance to train future guizers. The Junior Jarl is elected by first- and second-year Anderson High School pupils each autumn; parents build the squad's suits over winter.
Scalloway Fire Festival
First Up Helly Aa of the year, held the second Friday of January (9 Jan 2026) in Shetland's former capital. 200-300 guizers carry torches through the village; the galley is burnt on the sea at Port Arthur rather than on land, a Scalloway signature. Afterparty across five local halls with reestit mutton soup.
Nesting and Girlsta Up Helly Aa
Held 10 days after Lerwick (6 Feb 2026). ~300 guizers. The Jarl Squad visits schools and elderly residents during the day, then leads a torchlit procession; the galley is burned at sea. Evening entertainment spans three community halls.
Uyeasound Up Helly Aa
Held the third Friday of February (13 Feb 2026) in the south of Unst. Just under 200 guizers and two galleys: one decorative for the parade and one for burning on Shalder Taing beach at Uyeasound.
Cullivoe Up Helly Aa
Held the last Friday of February (27 Feb 2026) on the island of Yell. The galley is led from Cullivoe Hall to the marina, then set alight and floated out to sea. Includes a Hop night and a Guizer's Return the following week.
Northmavine Up Helly Aa
Held the third Friday of February (20 Feb 2026). Covers the whole Northmavine peninsula. Procession begins at Hillswick Hall. Unique tradition of building both a burning galley AND a seaworthy sailing galley. The Jarl Squad take to the water in the sailing galley when weather allows.
Bressay Up Helly Aa
Held the first Friday of March (6 Mar 2026). Around 100 guizers begin at Bressay Hall. Distinctive feature: the procession is open to all. Visitors with a torch can join the march, unique among Shetland fire festivals.
Norwick Up Helly Aa
Shetland's most northerly fire festival, held in late Feb / early March (7 Mar 2026). About 100 guizers in roughly a dozen squads march down the Floggie road to Norwick beach, where the galley is burned.
Walls Junior Up Helly Aa
Held the fourth Friday of March (27 Mar 2026). Organised by the local Brownies (and originally Scouts), this is a children's festival where the Jarl Squad is made up of young girls and boys. Families craft costumes from scratch; the wooden galley, built by a local craftsman, is reused yearly. Burning takes place in the kirk-yard.
South Mainland Up Helly Aa (SMUHA)
Held the second Friday of March (13 Mar 2026). Youngest of the Up Helly Aas. Procession and galley-burning location rotate yearly across five South Mainland districts. Each year a different community hosts the Jarl Squad and the burning.
Delting Up Helly Aa
Final festival of the Shetland Up Helly Aa season, held the third Friday of March (20 Mar 2026). Began at Brae High School in 1970, became a senior community festival in 1982. Renamed Delting in 2003 to include Mossbank, Muckle Roe, Vidlin and Voe. Procession finishes at the Delting Boating Club, where the galley is floated into Busta Voe and burned.
How to start up helly aa squads in your city
a seasonal cycle · 5-15 people · regional tradition anchor
- A consistent core of 5-15 people after six months
- Public visibility through belonging
- Cross-generational membership (or at least mixed ages by year two)
- Newcomers absorbed without losing the founding crew
- Find 3-5 co-founders who can commit to a seasonal cycle for at least a year.
- Pick a recurring time and place. Calendar discipline matters more than perfect timing.
- Design a clear visible identity early: name, simple kit or symbol, a short manifesto.
- Make the activity itself the recruitment tool. Show up in public; people will join.
- Build an explicit beginners path. The first session should feel welcoming, not intimidating.
- Decide your contribution to the wider neighbourhood now, not later: a performance, a service, a cleanup, a meal.
- · Expect moderate physical involvement; calibrate expectations honestly.
- · Don't let founders become irreplaceable. Plan for handover from year one.
- · Open entry means churn. Build rituals that turn drop-ins into regulars.
Up Helly Aa Squads (Shetland) near you?
If a named group above is missing (yours, or one you know), submit it. The catalog grows by who notices what.