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Stonehenge revelers celebrate summer solstice (From June 22, 2007)
Submitted by newscaster on Thu, 05/29/2008 - 22:21.
Druids, drummers, pagans and partygoers gathered at Stonehenge today to cheer the dawn of the longest day of the year - the summer solstice. Clad in antlers, black cloaks and oak leaves, a group of druids gathered at the Heel stone - a twisted, pockmarked pillar at the edge of the prehistoric monument - to welcome the rising sun as revelers danced and whooped. About 24,000 people gathered at the stone circle in Wiltshire, in southwestern England. Dancers writhed to the sound of drums and whistles as floodlights coloured the ancient pillars shades of pink and purple. Couples snuggled under plastic sheets. Solstice celebrations were a highlight of the pre-Christian calendar and in many countries bonfires, maypole dances, and courtship rituals linger on as holdovers from Europe’s pagan past. In more recent years, New Age groups and others have turned to Stonehenge to celebrate the solstice, and the World Heritage Site has become a magnet for men and women seeking a spiritual experience - or just wanting to have a good time. Solstice celebrations also take place in other countries, though most are deferred until the last weekend in June. Swedes will gather to sip spiced schnapps, Danes will light bonfires, and Balts and Finns will flock to the countryside to dance, sing, and make merry under the midnight sun in one of the region’s most important holidays. The southern hemisphere, meanwhile, was caught in the depths of winter. In Antarctica, where permanent night rules from mid-April through August 20, staff at New Zealand’s Scott Base science facility celebrated the midwinter solstice with a formal dinner of speeches and toasts. Scott Base manager Glenn Powell said it was a special time for him and his colleagues. "We do survive in total darkness - so the return of the sun (from the most distant point it reaches on June 21) is a very special occasion," he said by phone. "We’re celebrating the fact that it won’t go any further away." Stonehenge, on the Salisbury Plain about 130 kilometres southwest of London, was built between 3,000 BC and 1,600 BC. It is one of 20 monuments competing to be named one of the new seven wonders of the world in a massive online poll, but its original purpose is a mystery. Some experts say the monument’s builders aligned the stones with the sun as part of their sun-worshipping culture, although exactly how and why the monument was built remains shrouded in the mists of time. 22nd June 2007, 7:30 WST ************************************************************************************************* Do you think that Stonehenge should be considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World? Do you think that the new information about Stonehenge will change these celebrations? ************************************************************************************************* Source: |
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