Thousands greet sun with cheers at Stonehenge to mark winter solstice

Thousands of people greeted the sun with cheers and applause as it rose over Stonehenge at the winter solstice.

Those who observed the spectacle on Saturday at the neolithic monument in Wiltshire encountered a windy morning as they marked the shortest day.

Chris Smith, 31, who had come to Stonehenge for the winter solstice for the first time, said he was there because of the “spiritual draw of the area”.

Renewal

He 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.”

The civil servant added: “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”.

Equinoxes

Stonehenge is a monument built on the alignment of the midsummer sunrise and the midwinter sunset.

It is believed that solstices have been celebrated at Stonehenge for thousands of years.

The dates of the equinoxes and solstices vary because the Gregorian calendar does not exactly 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.