Up-Helly-Aa

/ ˌʌpˈhɛlɪɑː /

noun

1. a midwinter festival held in January in Shetland; originally a fire festival, but now a celebration of Shetland's Norse heritage, involving the ceremonial burning of a newly built Viking ship

Word History and Origins

Origin of Up-Helly-Aa¹

from up (in the sense: finished) + haliday a Scottish form of holiday

Example Sentences

In 1956 children were invited to join the event to prepare them to participate in the main Up-Helly-Aa fire festival when they're older.

From Children's BBC