Every year after christmas, the youth of the islands of Gothenburg’s northen archipelago battle eachother for the used christmas trees. Kids and teenagers from different islands and areas gather, hide, and fight over the trees in attempt to build the highest and longest burning bonfire on Good Friday.

To keep warm and help co-ordinate  actions, the biggest areas have special fire-sites where they can take a break from battling.

Martin hides out with a tree while calling a friend with a moped to help bring it back and hide it on the neighbouring island.

The ten inhabited islands, traditionally a fishing community, have historically enjoyed a greater isolation allowing the development of its own traditions and distinct dialect, sometimes carrying more of a resemblance to Norweigian than Swedish.

A lonely swan swims through the harbour as the ferry connecting the main islands with the smaller ones slowly arrives in the background. Four of the major islands Hönö, Öckerö, Hälsö and Fotö are connected with bridges and are also the ones most active in the battles.

As one of the fire-site fires runs out of fuel, someone fetches a small boat from the nearby harbour to keep it burning.

Not everyone participates in the battles, but as not much else happens on the islands in winter, the firesites are popular places to meet and party.

Erik and Micke drives a tree between the islands.

The islands are, like most small places, a closed community. Those who live there are usually the ones whose families have lived there for generations. Although many would agree the battles seem somewhat strange and rarely amount to anything good, those who live here have all once been part of it some way or another and would not want to rid the islands of it.

HEA, short for Heden, one of the battling areas on the biggest island, Hönö, is spraypainted on a tree close to a fire-site.

Martin and Manne, not old enough to drive a moped, carries a pair of trees between islands on foot.

As Good Friday arrives, the different areas gather all their trees and begin building their bonfires to be lit at midnight the same day.