Thousands of revellers gathered at Stonehenge in the early hours
of Sunday morning to celebrate the winter solstice, the shortest
day of the year.
Crowds amassed in the dark around the historical site in Wiltshire
to watch the sunrise, with some dressed in traditional pagan clothing,
just as they did to mark the sun rising on the summer solstice six
months ago.
During the winter solstice, which happens typically on 20, 21 or 22
December each year, the sun is at its lowest arc in the sky all year
and can be seen through the south-eastern arches of Stonehenge,
the great trilithon, with other parts of the structure also aligned
to meet the sunrise.
The exact length of the day during the solstice depends on how far
north or south you are, with the majority of Britain getting about
seven hours of sunlight. The people of Land’s End, Cornwall, get
just more than eight hours and in Shetland, Scotland, there is only
about five and a half hours.
People celebrate solstice at Stonehenge. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PAAt Stonehenge, people converged from different corners of the world
to celebrate the solstice together on Salisbury plain. Win Scutt, who
works as a curator at English Heritage and supervises events around
Stonehenge, welcomed people to the gathering.
“There’s just such a fantastic atmosphere here, so many different
people, different kinds of people as well, many pagans, druids, all
sorts of people,” Scutt told Hits Radio.
“It’s got that power, hasn’t it, this incredible sight, that it draws
people from all different walks of life. There’s something about
Stonehenge that appeals to people in so many different ways and
it’s lovely to share that.”
For Bradley O’Neill, witnessing the solstice was a dream come
true. O’Neill, who had travelled to Britain from Australia,
told the BBC that experiencing the solstice at Stonehenge
had been on his bucket list.
“I just like old mysteries. The world is full of questions and I’m
not going to get many answers either, but I’m sure going to
see something special,” O’Neill said. “Today we get to touch
the stones and feel the energy. The presence they have, it’s
actually fantastic. I feel special, in my heart.”
A woman gets close to the stone. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPAFor Golnar Pooya, celebrating the solstice at Stonehenge held
special meaning. Pooya identifies as a Persian Zoroastrian,
which is recognised as one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions,
whose members have celebrated the solstice for more than 2,500 years.
She said she and her family usually celebrated at home in America,
and this was her first time attending the celebrations in England .
“We stay up all night, we have a lot of pomegranates – which
symbolise birth, rebirth and life, and we gather with family,
we read poetry until the sun rises, and the celebration is that
the darkness is now over,” said Pooya.
“For us it’s not a religious event, it’s more a tradition. It’s
spectacular to see so many people from so many different
cultures coming together, from so many different regions,
just to see the sun rise and light come back to Earth.”
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