From Stonehenge to Times Square, people are celebrating the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.
Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument in England, is made of rock from some 200 miles from its location. Researchers have a new theory why: As The Washington Post reports, they say it was built in Wales, where it sat for hundreds of years, before being moved.
The Summer Solstice festival, which dates back thousands of years, celebrates the longest day of the year when the sun is at its maximum elevation. Modern druids and people gather at the landmark Stonehenge every year to see the sun rise on the first morning of summer.
Despite the rain and wind, a large crowd gathered at the famous historic stone circle Stonehenge to celebrate the sunrise closest to the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year – an event claimed to be more important in the pagan calendar than the summer solstice, because it marks the ‘re-birth’ of the Sun for the New Year. Photographs by Matt Cardy of Getty Images.
King Arthur Pendragon, a senior Druid, led a protest march past the new Stonehenge visitor centre in protest at English Heritage display of ancient human remains excavated from the environs of Stonehenge on December 18, 2013 in Wiltshire, England.
The longest day of the year, smashing bottles releasing prayers to God, “Tropical Spring” protestors in Brazil, “Solstice in Times Square,” deadly flooding in India and more in today’s daily brief.