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For thousands of years, our ancestors found solace in the winter solstice. Today, that belief is still reflected in the astonishing sight of the sun setting on Orkney's Maeshowe tomb. Located 10 miles off Scotland's north-eastern coast, the Orkney islands are a treasure trove of history, from the famous Neolithic village Skara Brae to the hauntingly beautiful Ring of Brodgar – a spellbinding stone circle that was a site of ritual and ceremony. However, when I visited another of Orkney's famous prehistoric sites, the Maeshowe tomb, my first impression was of an unremarkable green mound surrounded by a ditch. Despite...

Around 8,000 revelers gathered around a prehistoric stone circle on a plain in southern England to express their devotion to the sun, or to have some communal fun STONEHENGE, England (AP) — All hail the rising sun. Around 8,000 revelers gathered around a prehistoric stone circle on a plain in southern England to express their devotion to the sun, or to have some communal fun. Druids, pagans, hippies, local residents and tourists, many clad in an array of colorful costumes and even antlers, stayed and celebrated at Stonehenge for the night and greeted sunrise on Wednesday, which is the longest...

Archeologists say they have traced the origins of the first Christmas to be celebrated on 25 December, 300 years before the birth of Christ. The original event marked the consecration of the ancient world's largest sun god statue, the 34m tall, 200 ton Colossus of Rhodes. It has long been known that 25 December was not the real date of Christ's birth and that the decision to turn it into Jesus's birthday was made by Constantine, the Roman Emperor, in the early 4th century AD. But experts believe the origins of that decision go back to 283 BC, when, in...

Pagan worshippers, who braved freezing dawn temperatures to celebrate the winter solstice at Stonehenge, were dismayed to discover they had turned up on the wrong day . . . Pagan leader Arthur Pendragon said: "It is the most important day of the year for us . . ."

On the year’s shortest day, hundreds of Israelis ventured deep into the desert to witness a strange natural phenomenon atop an ancient pilgrimage site that some argue is where God spoke to Moses. The mountain kept its secrets for centuries, its air of sacred mystery enhanced by a remote location in the Negev Desert in southern Israel. But one day last week, hundreds of Israeli adventurers headed deep into the wilderness to reach Mount Karkom, determined to get closer to answering a question as intriguing as it is controversial: Is this the Mount Sinai of the Bible, where God is...

It has come to my attention that today is Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere: the planet’s tilt brings the South Pole closest to the sun meaning the North Pole is tilted away from the sun,hence the Arctic Circle is shrouded in darkness for nearly a full day and the rest of the northern hemisphere experiences the longest night of the year.Of course that means that today also marks the beginning of lengthening days and shortening nights – so yay. And as for Joey and his “dark winter” well, put it where the sun don’t shine.Anyway, it being December 21st...

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake was recorded at 12.21 pm California time, December 20. This was later reduced to 5.5 and another aftershock was measured at 5.7 and also reduced to 5.5 A very strong 5.5 earthquake was just recorded in a depth of 5.6 miles depth 45 miles off the coast of Eureka, California, USA. USGS also reported a 6.2 magnitude quake recorded off Petrolia, California Another aftershock was recorded off the coast of Ferndale, California.

The winter solstice sunrise will stream live this year from inside the passage tomb of Newgrange. The winter solstice is an astronomical phenomenon marking the shortest day and the longest night of the year, occurring on December 21st or 22nd in the Northern Hemisphere. At sunrise on the shortest day of the year, for 17 minutes, direct sunlight can enter the Newgrange monument to illuminate the chamber of the Stone Age tomb through a small opening above its entrance known as the ‘roof box’. With the chamber currently closed to the public in light of Covid-19, the event can be...

The rites and habits associated with ‘midsummer’ clustered around a number of dates in Shakespeare’s time. The June solstice occurs on a day between the 20 and 22 June, but ‘Midsummer Day’ was fixed in the calendar as 24 June (also known as St John’s Day). Midsummer was one of the most popular and keenly-observed festivals throughout the early modern period. Rural communities marked it with Morris dancing, processions, late-night drinking, the blessing of crops and the ritual banishment of devils and other unwelcome sprites – precisely the sort of pagan-originating, Catholic-saint-encompassing mishmash that Protestant reformers despised. But by the...

John understood that his role was to prepare the way for Christ, and then to step aside: “He must increase, I must decrease” (John 3:30). The birth of Jesus is celebrated at Christmas (beginning of another quarter) in December—at the Winter Solstice, as the Sun begins to “increase” in day light and the day lights grow longer each day. The Bible indicates that John was born six months before Jesus (Luke 1:26), so his birth celebrates during the Summer Solstice, as the Sun begins to “decrease” in day light and day lights become shorter. Summer Solstice has the longest day...

Proof that time flies by: I completely missed this year’s summer solstice in which the longest day of the year ushers in the season’s languid, slothful days as we march inexorably towards the shortest. It is a lovely, ancient rhythm, you just need to get used to it. One way or another we all do. My languid day begins at the dentist so I bid you adieu for the time being.

The discovery of a dismantled stone circle—close to Stonehenge's bluestone quarries in west Wales—raises the possibility that a 900-year-old legend about Stonehenge being built from an earlier stone circle contains a grain of truth. Radiocarbon and OSL dating of Waun Mawn indicate construction c. 3000 BC, shortly before the initial construction of Stonehenge. The identical diameters of Waun Mawn and the enclosing ditch of Stonehenge, and their orientations on the midsummer solstice sunrise, suggest that at least part of the Waun Mawn circle was brought from west Wales to Salisbury Plain. This interpretation complements recent isotope work that supports a...

The great convergence of Jupiter and Saturn for the first time in 800 years to form the Christmas Star also happened to converge with the date of this year’s Winter Solstice. And I missed it.We were under heavy cloud cover with rain so there was no way to catch even a glint of the Christmas Star, which I can’t help but feel is a bit like a bad omen. Anyway, as I missed the Christmas Star I’m left with only the Winter Solstice, Druids and 90 freezing, cold, gray days that will be followed by another 60 days of moderately...

LOOK UP ON DEC. 21: During the upcoming winter solstice, Jupiter and Saturn will line up to create what is known as the "Christmas Star" or "Star of Bethlehem" -- something not seen in nearly 800 years

Explanation: This intriguing monument can be found in Taiwan between the cities of Hualian and Taitong. Split into two sides, it straddles a special circle of latitude on planet Earth, near 23.5 degrees north, known as the Tropic of Cancer. Points along the Tropic of Cancer are the northernmost locations where the Sun can pass directly overhead, an event that occurs once a year during the northern hemisphere's summer solstice. The latitude that defines the Tropic of Cancer corresponds to the tilt of planet Earth's rotation axis with respect to its orbital plane. The name refers to the zodiacal constellation...

Summer is coming early this year, and it has nothing to do with this week’s scorching weather in the Twin Cities. The summer solstice takes place on Saturday at 4:43 p.m. CDT, making it the earliest official arrival of the summer season in 124 years. On Saturday afternoon, the sun’s rays will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer, the farthest north they’ll go all year. As the Earth orbits the sun, it wobbles around on a 23.5-degree axis, giving us seasons as the Earth tilts towards the sun at varying angles. The Twin Cities’ northerly latitude (the 45th parallel,...

For never-resting time leads summer on To hideous winter and confounds him there; Sap cheque'd with frost and lusty leaves quite gone, Beauty o'ersnow'd and bareness every where. Shakespeare, Sonnet 5Originally posted by Lili, wherever you may find herThe winter solstice occurs in the Northern Hemisphere when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, or 23.5° south latitude; this year that happens at 11:19 PM EST. It is the shortest day of the year so rise early, although it will still be dark, and have your coffee and breakfast before the sun comes up. You cannot afford to...

Was Abdel Baset al-Megrahi wrongly convicted of being responsible for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing? Wednesday, December 21, 1988 was the longest night of the year, the night of the winter solstice. At 6.30pm that evening Pan Am Flight 103 took off from London Heathrow airport en route to JFK New York. On board Clipper Maid of the Skies, as it was called, were 16 crew members and 243 passengers, many of whom were carrying Christmas gifts in their luggage for family and friends. But also in the baggage hold was a brown Samsonite suitcase, packed with new clothes and a...

Sorry I meant to post this a couple of days ago, but Pani Shirmpska has been ill. Anyway, enjoy: Jethro Tull - Ring Out Solstice bells 1976 Now is the solstice of the year Winter is the glad song that you hear Seven maids move in seven time Have the lads up ready in a line Ring out these bells Ring out, ring solstice bells Ring solstice bells Join together 'neath the mistletoe, By the holy oak whereon it grows Seven druids dance in seven time Sing the song the bells call, loudly chiming Ring out these bells Ring out,...

The December solstice happens at the same instant for everyone, everywhere on Earth – and this year the solstice occurs tomorrow, on Thursday December 21st at 16:28 GMT. The winter solstice happens every year when the Sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.5 degrees. In other words, it is when the North Pole is tilted farthest away from the Sun, delivering the fewest hours of sunlight of the year. The Sun is directly overhead of the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere during the December solstice and is closer to the horizon than at any other time in the year, meaning shorter...