Up Helly Aa

Pop on your thermals hats, gloves and scarves and let's journey north today and out to the Shetlands to see and learn about Up Helly Aa.

Up Helly Aa is a type of fire festival held annually from January to March in various communities in Shetland, Scotland to mark the end of the yule season. Each festival involves a torchlit procession by squads of costumed participants that culminates in the burning of an imitation Viking galley.

Sadly this year the festival has been cancelled as we might have guessed but it should have taken place on Tuesday 26th January but we can still learn much from our virtual trip.

The main and largest celebrations take place in Lerwick, capital of the Shetlands always on the last Tuesday of January. It is a day of events, marches, visits to sites and finally in the Winter darkness a torch lit procession and the burning of a Viking style long boat. It is a dramatic spectacle with crowds of costumed men in the darkness and cold and good sized crowds all around. It would be great to know how many have witnessed this? I wonder if it has been on Sheila and Philip's travels?

Well let us have a wander about and soak up the atmosphere of Europe's biggest fire festival.

Well what did you think? It does seem pretty impressive and the labour of love that goes into the building of the galley (Viking style long boat) and those costumes. As we look to the past we also have to recognise that although in other places women cannot be involved in the processions or the building of the boat in Lerwick. Maybe you might think true to the situation or does it need to be up dated? It is noisy festival, crowded with up to 5,000 people lining the streets to watch on, fireworks explode and sweat builds up on the bodies of the the squads involved.

But take off your warm clothing now, as we board a plane down to Fiji and to another display involving fire.

"Fiji is a nation of cultural diversity, thanks to the influences of the populations who have settled there throughout history, from Melanesian and Polynesian tribes to European missionaries, and indentured Indian laborers. Fiji’s unique hybrid culture is reflected in the islands’ festivals."

South Indian Fire Walking Festival

"Fire-walking, which involves walking barefoot across hot embers or coals, is a tradition originating on the island of Beqa, approximately five miles from Viti Levu’s southern coast. The custom has since crossed the lagoon and is now frequently performed along the Coral Coast, with the annual festival taking place at the Mariamma Temple. Participants enter a 10-day period of sexual abstinence and prolonged meditation prior to the event, during which Hindu priests pierce their faces and bodies with skewers and smear their skin with yellow turmeric, before they perform this extraordinary art thought to bring physical and spiritual cleansing."

They are held in July and/or August and fall into two main festivals and draw in huge numbers of tourists to gaze in an amazement. The most popular one, from the Indian heritage of Fiji and the other originated from the indigenous people, Fijians on island of Beqa. It is very Fijian and traditional. It means the partakers in the fire walk have to prepare themselves spiritually by abstaining from sex and not eating coconuts for many days leading up to the walk. The spectacular fire walk based from the Hindu traditions, also involves strict preparations, the wearing of red and yellow garments: these colours are said to cleanse the physical body and spiritual mind, but also accompanied by abstinence from sex and eating a vegetarian diet.

Both of these traditional fire walk festivals are taken seriously and are seen as a sign of faith, and many receive second and third degree burns on the soles of their feet for their efforts. These burns may be seen as the participants having angered the gods and not prepared thoroughly enough! Sounds a bit drastic! I won't suggest to Edwin that we undertake this in Lent then!

It did make me think - what are the visible "signs" of our faith? Is it the cross around your neck, the good works you do the sign that you attend church or is there any "sign?" This week when taking a graveside funeral and dressed well, for the freezing conditions, a mask for the virus risk,a teenage mourner said afterwards to her mother taht she was fascinated by the fact my Christianity showed in my clothing and appearance!

Anyway lets travel from the warmth back home and enjoy some lovely things shared over the past weeks and days. Thank you all for sharing.

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Heulwen kindly sent these to me this week to share. I think you will enjoy the short little videos,

Di has been out on a New Year winter walk and saw these two ferrets having their walks complete with leads! Quite a strange sight in Llantwit Major!

This coastal view is gorgeous and teh light breaking through the heavy clouds - quite spectacular!

Thanks to Heulwen and Di for sharing. Please do keep them coming and should I forget something please don't be embarrassed to remind me!