Winter Solstice

Picture by Anthony Murphy
www.mythicalireland.com

Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice. It marks the shortest day of the year and subsequently the birth of the new year. It seems to have been the most important date to our ancestors but one that is now somewhat overlooked. Thousands of people flock to Stonehenge on the Summer Solstice but in fact it seems like Stonehenge and other Neolithic sites like Newgrange in Ireland were actually built and aligned to the Mid Winter Solstice. More people are recognising this lately and plenty attend at mid winter too. Of course we now celebrate 'Christmas' instead, but this seems to be a veneer of Christianity, changing the 'rebirth of the Sun' to the birth of the 'Son' of God... 'Jesus'.

Newgrange

The Winter Solstice at Newgrange is a remarkable and ancient event that takes place at the prehistoric monument in County Meath, Ireland. Newgrange is a passage tomb built around 3200 BCE, predating both Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza.

The most fascinating aspect of Newgrange is the alignment of its entrance with the rising sun during the Winter Solstice, which occurs around December 21st or 22nd. The passage and chamber inside Newgrange are designed so that, at dawn on the Winter Solstice, sunlight streams through a specially constructed opening, or roofbox, and illuminates the inner chamber.

The alignment shows that the people who built Newgrange gave a deeply spiritual or ritualistic meaning to the winter solstice. The light of the solstice sun could be seen as a penetration of the 'sun god' into the womb of the 'earth goddess'.

In many cultures, the solstice was viewed as a moment of cosmic balance, when the Sun was "reborn" and life could begin to flourish again.

The ancient Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a festival honoring the god Saturn, which included feasting, revelry, and gift-giving.
The Norse celebrated the solstice as the rebirth of the Sun, often linking it with the myth of the Sun's journey through the sky.
In many Native American traditions, the solstice was a time for ceremonies aimed at restoring balance and harmony with nature.

https://www.newgrange.com/winter_solstice.htm

Stonehenge

The most notable alignment at Stonehenge occurs during the winter solstice, when the Sun rises in the southeast and sets in the southwest. On this day, the Sun appears to align with the entrance of Stonehenge, with the stones forming a kind of "gateway" to the sunrise.

During the winter solstice, the first rays of sunlight can be seen through the stone circle's entrance. The idea that Stonehenge was primarily a winter solstice site is also backed by archaeological evidence.

It is known that the people who celebrated at Stonehenge camped nearby at a place called Durrington Walls. Large feasts were held here in midwinter. A study of leftovers from 4,500-year-old pig roasts reveals that prehistoric ceremonial sites around Stonehenge served as “pan-British” centres that helped bring together disparate populations of Neolithic peoples from across the island for the first time. 

This was not regular, everyday consumption. Many of the pigs had been killed at about nine months old. Since the piglets were most probably born in the spring, they were therefore all being slaughtered at midwinter. This suggests that people were gathering for feasts at the mid winter solstice.

This was an annual month long massive party or festival. Feasting, drinking, drumming music and signing and possibly the use of psychotropic drugs. It all sounds pretty similar to the infamous Stonehenge Free Festivals of the 70s and 80s before they were brutally stopped by Margaret Thatcher and the infamous 'Battle of the Beanfield'

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/history-and-stories/history/food-and-feasting-at-stonehenge/