Thousands gather at Stonehenge for 5,000-year-old tradition

Thousands of people have gathered at Stonehenge today to mark the shortest day of the year – the winter solstice.

From pagans, to druids and tourists, the neolithical monument attracts people from different walks of life each year.

The Stonehenge was built around 3,000 BC to align with the winter solstice sunset, and people have gathered to mark the shortest day of the year ever since.

As dawn approached this morning, cheers and applause could be heard despite the windy conditions.

One person who attended for the first time was Chris Smith, who said the ‘spritiual draw of the area’ attracted him to the location.

The 31-year-old civil servant said: ‘This is all about renewal, rebirth, we’re entering into the new year, and it’s also a good time to acknowledge what’s taking place in the year that’s been.

‘For me, I’ve gone through a bit of a tumultuous year, there’s been lots that has taken place for me in the past 24 months, and this is an opportunity to consolidate everything that has taken place this year and bury that in the past and be able to move forward then into this next new year.

‘There’s such a vibe. I mean, if you look around, you’ve got everybody here, there’s such an energy in the space.

‘You can really feel it, like it’s all good vibes. People are just here enjoying themselves, and that’s kind of one of the draws of these sorts of events.

‘We have got people here from all walks of life. This is the community. And I think in today’s age, this is a really important thing to do.’

Julie Hypher said it felt ‘really important to come and honour the annual cycle’.

She added it was ‘just amazing’ with ‘so much energy’.

The winter and summer solstices have been celebrated at Stonehenge for thousands of years.

This is because Stonehenge is built on the alignment of the midsummer sunrise and the midwinter sunset.

The dates of the equinoxes and solstices vary because the Gregorian calendar does not match the length of the tropical year – the time it takes the Earth to complete an orbit around the Sun.

To realign the calendar with the tropical year, a leap day is introduced every four years and when this happens, the equinox and solstice dates shift back to the earlier date.

English Heritage’s Stonehenge director Steve Bax said: ‘It was fantastic to welcome around 4,500 people to Stonehenge this morning to celebrate winter solstice, and we were delighted that more than 100,000 people also watched live online from around the world.

‘It was an enjoyable and peaceful celebration despite the sun not making an appearance and it was great to see so many families enjoying themselves around the monument.’

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