Winter solstice mix up!

Nevyn

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1237720/Hundreds-pagans-turn-Stonehenge-winter-solstice--WRONG-DAY.html

Hundreds of pagans turn up at Stonehenge for the winter solstice... on the WRONG DAY

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:55 PM on 22nd December 2009

It's one of the oldest celebrations in the world and has drawn visitors to Stonehenge for centuries.

But 300 pagans were left red-faced yesterday after they arrived at the prehistoric monument a day early for the winter solstice.

The crowd had met at the mystical site in Wiltshire to mark the shortest day of the year, normally December 21, but this year the solstice did not become official until the early hours of this morning.

So they were forced to spend a cold night shivering outside in their full-length cloaks.

The solstice does not always fall on the December 21 because the modern calendar of 365 days per year does not correspond exactly to the solar year of 365.2422 days.

English Heritage opened Stonehenge at 7.30am this morning for people wishing to watch the sun rise shortly after 8am.

Most revellers left soon after the sunrise before the site reopened at 9.30am for the usual visitor traffic.

But while 600 people turned up today for the official ceremony, around 300 arrived yesterday to find out they had got the date wrong.

A spokesman for English Heritage said: 'About 300 people turned up a day early on Monday morning.

'We took pity on them and opened the stone circle so they could celebrate anyway. They were a day early but no doubt had a wonderful time as well.

'There has been a bitter chill there over the past few days but it has been absolutely gorgeous in terms of light and photography.

'People always assume that because the summer solstice is on June 21, the winter solstice will be on December 21. They should always check because it does change.'

The solstice was actually at 17.47GMT on Monday but celebrations took place at sunrise this morning to welcome in the new sun.

Pagan leader Arthur Pendragon, who arrived yesterday, said: 'It is the most important day of the year for us because it welcomes in the new sun. There were thousands of people there.

'If we'd celebrated on the 21st it would have been the right day but the wrong sun - when the whole point of the occasion is about welcoming in the new sun.

'I did about three hand-fasting ceremonies, which are pagan marriages, and we've said prayers for world peace. It's a new beginning.'

The winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year, when the sun is at the greatest distance from the equator.

Some pagans see it as New Year's Day and burn a traditional yule log to give the sun strength.

Tabnabs

Damn new agers :pac:

Nevyn

Well which ones are those?

One could argue that any of the 3 days are god for celebrating the return of the sun and for the most part in ye olden days people did not have for the most part the ability to exactly pin point which sunrise was the new sun.

So are the newagers those who turned up on the 'traditional' day or those who looked up on the internet when 'exactly' was the first day of the 'new' sun?

Tabnabs

IMHO, I'd call the new agers the ones who went by the calendar date and those who used their initiative to discern the correct time (be it internet, almanac or by celestial observations) would be more akin to our ancestors.

oncevotedff

Dyflin wrote: »

....(be it internet, almanac or by celestial observations) would be more akin to our ancestors.

I'm not sure our ancestors had internet access.:D