Early Saturday morning, thousands of people at the Stonehenge archaeological site in Great Britain celebrated Winter Saturday, the start of astronomical winter and the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
About 4,500 people dressed in Druid and folk costumes, shamans and pagans and other interested parties showed up to this Neolithic complex despite the cold and misty weather in accordance with the centuries-old tradition. On the occasion of the winter holiday, visitors were allowed to touch the stones of Stonehenge. “Stonehenge was built so that (its axis) pointed in the direction of the rising sun over the years,” Heather Sebira of English Heritage, which manages the complex, told AFP. As he pointed out, the winter sun was more important than the summer sun. For the farmers living nearby, it symbolized the beginning of the new year and the lengthening of the days, which was accompanied by a great celebration.
The crowd celebrated the winter anniversary at StonehengePAP/EPA/TOLGA AKMEN UK
– This is a moment of renewal, rebirth, we enter the new year and at the same time reflect on what happened last year – 31-year-old Chris Smith, who celebrated the winter solstice in this place. for the first time, he told AFP.
According to English Heritage, nearly 100,000 people from around the world watched the Stonehenge celebrations live online on Saturday.
The crowd celebrated the winter anniversary at StonehengePAP/EPA/TOLGA AKMEN UK
The crowd celebrated the winter anniversary at StonehengePAP/EPA/TOLGA AKMEN UK
Astronomical winter began on December 21 at 10:20. It will last until Thursday, March 20, at 10 o'clock in January, when the astronomical spring begins.
It is interesting that during our winter the Earth is not far from the Sun. On January 4, at 2:28 p.m., it will pass through perihelion – the point of its orbit to our day star. Its distance will be 147.1 million kilometers. This shows that the seasons are not the result of the change in the distance of our planet from the Sun. This is because the orbit of our planet is close to circular and the distance from the star is small. If the Earth's orbit was greatly extended, it would undoubtedly have a great impact on the prevailing temperature and therefore on the seasons.
It still has many secrets
Stonehenge is the most famous megalithic structure in the world. It is located near the city of Salisbury in the south of Great Britain. The first phase of construction began five thousand years ago, and further changes were made over two thousand years.
Stonehenge still holds many secrets. This year, the results of the study were published, which show that the 6-ton block of stone at the center of the complex, called “Facestone”, was brought from a place more than 700 kilometers away in the north-east of Scotland, and not from Wales.
It is not yet known what the altar stone was used for. -It's called this because it's flat like a table, but we don't know what exactly it was used for. We know it lights up at sunset, said Chris Kirkland, a professor of isotopic geology.
PAP, Reuters, tvnmeteo.pl
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/TOLGA AKMEN
