Winter solstice celebrated at historic sites celebrated | Global News Avenue

Thousands of people greet the winter solstice sunrise at Stonehenge with a focus on “renewal, rebirth and good vibes”.

The ancient site opened the monument grounds at 0745 GMT so people could see the sun shining on the iconic stone.

Despite a windy morning in Wiltshire, people followed the “spiritual appeal of the area” to mark the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.

From now on, the nights will slowly begin to decrease and the days will gradually become longer.

The sun rose over Stonehenge at approximately 08:09, prompting cheers and applause.

The estimated time is 16:02, which means there will be less than eight hours of daylight.

Chris Smith, a 31-year-old civil servant, was visiting Stonehenge for the first time.

“It’s all about renewal, rebirth, and we’re about to enter a new year and it’s a good time to acknowledge what has happened during the year,” he said.

“For me, I’ve had a bit of a tumultuous year, a lot has happened in the last 24 months, and this is an opportunity to solidify everything that’s happened this year and bury it in history.” Get past that and be able to move forward. Until next new year.

“There’s a vibe here. I mean, if you look around, everyone is here and there’s a lot of energy in this space.

“You can really feel it, like everything is fine. People are just here enjoying themselves and that’s part of the appeal of events like this.

“We have people here from all walks of life. It’s community. I think that’s a really important thing in this day and age.”

The stones are thought to have been placed there around 2,500 BC and they coincide with the movement of the sun during the two solstices, marking the changing of the seasons.

Normally, large crowds are prohibited, but English Heritage opens the site during the summer and winter solstices.

Steve Bax, Director of Stonehenge at English Heritage, said: “It was fantastic to be able to welcome around 4,500 people to Stonehenge this morning to celebrate the Winter Solstice and we’re delighted that more than 100,000 people have also watched from around the world Live online.

“Although the sun didn’t appear, it was a lovely and peaceful celebration and it was great to see so many families enjoying their time around the monument.”

In nearby Avebury, the site of another ancient stone circle, two cloaked men can be seen blowing trumpets as people gather to watch the sunrise over a field.

There is a group of beech trees near the stone circle where people tie ribbons.

This is a pagan tradition known as the “wishing tree”, which is done to pray to the tree god or to remember a loved one.

In Somerset, Glastonbury Towers also saw throngs of people climbing up the hill this morning to mark the rising of the sun.

The Tor forms part of the ruins of the 15th-century St Michael’s Church, rising 518 ft (158 m) above Somerset Level, with views over Wells, the Bristol Channel, Wiltshire, Bolden Hill and Aix Panoramic view of Moore.

It is considered by some to be a spiritual site like Stonehenge.

Bonfires were lit on the top of the mountain and the people gathered there sang songs.