On about December 21st of each year, Aborigines, academics, astroarchaeologists, Atheists, Celts,
Druids, historians, Native Americans, Pagans, Shamans, Wiccans, Witches, etc., the world
over will be celebrating the world's oldest holiday, the shortest day in the Northern
Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice.
Lowell McFarland contributed the following information:
Some web sites featuring information on the Winter Solstice are:
Solstice at: http://www.candlegrove.com/Teresa Ruano and friends describe ancient solstice architectures, a family
fertility ritual, and solstice celebrations of many cultures.
Winter Solstice at: http://www.astro.virginia.edu/Eric W. Weisstein has included two graphs showing when the solstice occurs, in
the Gregorian calendar, and a chart listing the time of the solstice from 1908 to 2009 CE.
Winter Solstice at:
http://tryskelion.com/Lisa Hutchins has an essay describing the origins, traditions and spirituality of
the solstice.
Newgrange, Ireland:
This megalithic passage grave cemetery and ceremonial site has been
carbon dated to about 3000 to 2500 BCE. It was
built 1,000 years or more before Stonehenge in England, and about
500 years before the Egyptian pyramids.
Some amazing pictures of the winter
solstice at Newgrange are featured at
http://www.knowth.com One in particular is sized for use as a
background on your computer desktop. The same website also has many
other images of megalithic sites.
Aerial Images of Newgrange and Knowth megalithic passage tombs
can be seen at:
http://www.knowth.com/
For the first time, the 2007 Winter Solstice illumination at
Newgrange will be available live on the Internet. See
http://www.newgrange.com/
Maes Howe: The Winter Solstice was broadcast live from the 5,000 year
old megalith at this location in the Orkney's, Scotland. At the time of the solstice,
light from the setting sun shines through a small opening above the entrance to the tomb
and illuminates the back wall of the chamber. Victor Reijs, Charles Tait, Historic
Scotland, and others organized a Internet hookup. Before and after the 1998 solstice,
the sunset at Maes Howe was broadcast from 1998-DEC-7 to 1999-JAN-31. This
was repeated in 1999/2000 and is expected to be continued into the
future. The site expresses
time in GMT; subtract 5 hours to convert to Eastern Standard time. See:
http://www.iol.ie/
http://www.stonesofwonder.com/Robert Pollock's web site includes material on "Stones of Wonder:
Prehistoric Observatories in Scotland." Also included are information on the key
lines, and the dates of the equinoxes, solstices, midsummer and midwinter full moons from
1997 to 2030.
http://www.orkneyjar.com
The "Maeshowe" site by Sigurd Towrie describes the megalith
site, and includes many details, including some ancient graffiti.
Sponsored link:
Winter Solstice Celebrations for Families and Households
Circle Santuary: Selena Fox discusses the focus of the celebration, including its timing, length,
location, and featured elements. See:
http://www.circlesanctuary.org/
