Thousands of people greet the dawn with applause Stonehenge on Saturday they marked the winter.
Those who watched the show in the Neolithic monument Wilts “ A windy morning struck like the shortest day of the year.
At sunrise at 8.09am there was an uproar of banging, singing and singing. It was less than eight hours on Saturday but the days are now longer until the summer solstice on June 21.
Stonehenge was built between sunrise and sunset at night. It is believed that the solstice has been celebrated there for thousands of years.
Chris Smith, 31, who had come to Stonehenge for the first time this winter, said he was there because of the “spiritual draw of the area”.
The civil servant said: “This is all about renewal, about regeneration, we are entering a new year, and it is also a time to recognize what has been going on in the year that has been.
“I’ve had a tumultuous year, a lot has happened to me in the past 24 months, and this is an opportunity to consolidate everything that happened this year and bury what’s in it. the past and be able to move forward into this next year.
He added: “The vibe is like that. Of course if you look around, you have everyone here, there is so much energy in the space.
“Here we have people from all walks of life. This community. But I think, in today’s age, this is an important thing to do.”
Julie Hyper said it felt “really important to come and honor the annual cycle”.
The times of the equinoxes and solstices vary because the Gregorian calendar does not exactly match the length of the tropical year, when it takes the Earth to complete one orbit around the Sun. To realign the calendar with the tropical year, a leap day is introduced every four years and, if this occurs, the equinox and solstice move back to the previous day.
Director of English Heritage Steve Bax said: “It was fantastic to get 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 live online around the world.
“It was a pleasant and peaceful celebration, although the sun did not appear, and it was great to see so many families enjoying themselves around the monument.”