Holidays in Scotland

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Up-Helly-Aa The Scots are cheerful people. They are very fond of holidays, and at the same time they respect traditions. Therefore it is twice pleasant, when a holiday becomes a tradition. In the IX century the Shetland Islands witnessed the landing of a people who changed the history of the Islands – the Vikings. In honor of it every year at the end of January in Lerwick (the capital) there is a holiday held, consisting of a solemn procession, a carnival and songs. This sight is impressive in its scale and brightness[1]. The main object of the carnival is a Vikings-time wooden boat which is made specifically for the holiday. The celebration always ends with the burning of a boat, however, before it happens the whole ritual is carried out. People put on Vikings suits: skins and horned helmets. The city is filled with a terrible roar of pipes. A noisy crowd proceeds through the city carrying the boat to the sea. Naturally, the burning is carried out in the evening. It is known that at the time of the Vikings burial was carried out through burning as it was considered that the spirit of a dead soldier rises together with a smoke from a fire to the place where it receives an award for worthy life and death. Therefore the burning of the ship represents a peculiar form of burial. During the holiday procession the ship is carried by forty “Vikings”, and other participants – more than nine hundred people – follow them, holding blazing torches. When the ship is delivered to the coast, they throw the torches in it. A huge fire flares ashore, and nobody goes away till it goes out. The show given at this time by participants of the procession is really impressive. It seems that the time of furious Vikings who couldn't imagine dying any other way but in a battle, suddenly comes back.

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