<< News >> Winter Solstice at Stonehenge
Submitted by Graham Harvey on Monday, 31 December 2001 Page Views: 1242
StonehengeStonehenge 21 December 2001Some of us who celebrate the dawn of the day in which the sun enters Capricorn - as well as the rest of the day, the night, and the surrounding days, weeks and years - were at Stonehenge for dawn on 21 December this year. Various misinformation has been disseminated. What follows is what I saw and joined in.
People began arriving when it was dark. Two policemen were there, 'to make sure the road was safe' they told me. English Heritage officials were there, but no more than most nights I think. Increasing numbers of people arrived and the roadside was getting dangerous. I was with one of the Druids as he - among others - talked with Heritage and then the police to try to negotiate access. Without permission from Clews Everard, manager of Stonehenge, Heritage were doing nothing, insisting that we were there on 'the wrong day' . So much for freedom of religion! Well after first light, some people began to jump the fence only shortly before the police told Heritage to open the gate to get us off the road - simple as that. No-one broke the padlock as was later reported. It certainly took a bit of effort, but a Heritage official unlocked it, let us in, and locked it behind us. They opened another gate to let us out later.
Inside, people do what they always do (and probably always have done) at these gatherings: whatever they considered appropriate for solstice dawn. Music, dancing, sharing of mead, ginger wine, and some less elite (but probably more expensive) substances, chatting, wondering whether the sun was up yet. Sun rise was marked by the usual stunning colour changes in the sky over Stonehenge even if the clouds obscured the moment itself. As at last summer solstice a Maori group greeted the sun, the ancestors who built the place, and the other celebrants present. Others played drums, blew conches, did media interviews, chanted, joked, kissed and other seasonal pursuits. As ever some people stood on recumbent stones, some putting blankets down first. As ever some asked them to leave. Just like Victorian aristocrats some said 'fuck you, we're staying'. Three dogs and many children ran in and out of the circle. The sheep watched from a distance - or carried on grazing (maybe they've seen it all before and just don't care).
People started to leave - some as soon as they thought the sun was up, others sometime later. Some left altogether, others stopped for a while by
cars, vans and busses on the drove road near Stonehenge. Apparently some people left bottles and cigarette buts in the circle, and some will interpret this as a desecration. Others will just think its stupid, unnecessary, very human and as easily tidied as the nearby car-park that buries the earliest sacred site in this landscape. Go visit the three white blobs!
In short, a good time seems to have been had by all who were there: the Heritage officials were smiling, the police were chatty, the media got their pictures and controversies, and the celebrants of solstice were there for another glorious dawn.
Graham Harvey
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