Up Helly Aa

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Longboat replica in Lerwick Harbor

The Fest Up Helly Aa is next to the Shetland Folk Festival the annual highlight of the folk culture on the Shetland Islands . Every last Tuesday in January, a whole day is devoted to dressing up, a fire spectacle , drinking and celebrating - similar to Rose Monday in the Rhineland  .

Course of events

In months of preparatory work is of "Feierabend Vikings" a grand looking Vikings - longship reconstructed. This is intended from the outset to be sacrificed to the flames on the day of Up Helly Aa following a large torch parade with atmospheric battle chants.

On the morning of the 24th day after Christmas, the adventurously disguised men of the Jarl entourage appear in the city center, visit hospitals and schools. This finally also revealed the secret of which heroic figure from the Nordic legends this year's Jarl actor chose to embody.

Interview with the Guizer Jarl in front of the Shetland Museum during Up Helly Aa 2016

As soon as it gets dark, Lerwick's street lights are switched off. After a signal rocket lights up above the town hall, the torches are lit. In a slow processional march of half an hour, accompanied by the music of the “Lerwick Brass Band” and the “Lerwick Pipe Band”, the longship with the enthroned Jarl is pulled towards its destination by the thousand Viking actors of his entourage. It has become common practice in many places that the Jarl makes ridiculous verses about public administration.

The example of the Viking ship lighting is the guaranteed fact that Viking chiefs were cremated together with their longboat after their death, the so-called " Nordic burial ". The Guizer Jarl actor is of course allowed to climb out in this epilogue before the flames go up and everyone present starts singing the old song "The Norseman's Home".

After the cremation is complete, the crowds disperse and stream into the inns and partly specially furnished “dance halls”, many of which are open until 8 o'clock in the morning on this exceptional day. The nearly one thousand “festival vikings” are divided into 40 groups of around 25, who appear in the festival halls rotating, so to speak, in order to contribute as fun or wild skits or dance performances as possible.

The central figure throughout the day is the Guizer Jarl - a Shetlander who deserves to organize the festival in the role of the Viking chief. Together with a 60 strong core entourage, the Jarl Squad , he directs the parade and everything related to the bonfire. All around, almost all public life on the islands is paralyzed for one day. As a precaution, the following Wednesday has been officially made a public holiday.

Social base

The Up Helly Aa has become over the years the biggest festival of the Shetland Islands. Many thousands of locals and tourists come here especially to celebrate the Scandinavian cultural heritage at this regional festival.

The fire festival of the north, sometimes called "Viking Carnival" in the press, is supported on the one hand by the commitment to Scandinavian roots that is widespread on the Shetland Islands and on the other hand by the need to counteract the dark, harsh winter on one's own. The activists of the spectacle are the young men; At least women are not allowed to participate directly in the fire show. This is justified by the fact that it was no different with the real Vikings.

The 39-year-old island ferry employee Peter Fraser, who was volunteering on January 25, 2005, was selected in 1991 for the role of Guizer Jarl. After 14 years of constant, hands-on collaboration, he was now allowed to take on the main role that will secure him lifelong fame on the islands.

history

In reality, however, the origins probably only go back to the 19th century. The city archivist Lerwicks, Brian Smith, found out that the first time the name around 1870 Up Helly Aa appeared in historical sources. There is talk of rival groups of young men and wildly dangerous games, such as rolling burning tar barrels through the narrow streets of Lerwick. The older population didn't like that very much. About ten years later, the idea of ​​recreating a dragon boat and then burning it in a spectacular fire spectacle was implemented. Through the development of a dramaturgy that was satisfactory on all sides and the corresponding commitment of the city leaders, towards the end of the 19th century it was finally possible to channel the rebellious unrest among the male youth towards the Viking theme. The role of Viking chief Guizer Jarl , which is the focus of the play today, appears for the first time in 1906, according to evidence.

Folklore comparisons

For European ethnology , also known as folklore , it is one of the best known seasonal folk customs that the "winter spirits" must be driven out. In rural Central Europe, too, the young men in the village are often the most active. In some places in rural, conservative Germany, there are still so-called fraternities , associations of the male offspring, who organize such traditions and have fun with the jokes.

Grouping a community experience around bonfires is also well known from the custom of the Easter bonfires and the Midsummer Festival , the celebration of the summer solstice.

A major regional social event such as Up Helly Aa is most similar to the Rhenish Rose Monday in Cologne or Düsseldorf via the analogy to what Europeans usually do on New Year's Eve . Here, as there, there is a long preparatory organization, a big parade is held at the climax and then the party continues until dawn.

The fact that such a traditional festival can also be used to scold local mayors and “top dogs” is familiar from both village contexts and from Alemannic Carnival . On the Shetland Islands, these developments are currently taking place increasingly in decentralized small towns.

literature

Web links

Commons : Up Helly Aa  - Collection of images, videos and audio files