LONDON — Thousands of people cheered and danced around Stonehenge as the sun rose over the prehistoric stone circle Sunday, the winter solstice.
People take part in the winter solstice celebrations Sunday during sunrise at the Stonehenge prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England.
The crowds, many dressed as druids and pagans, gathered before dawn, waiting patiently in the dark and cold field in southwest England. Some sang and beat drums, while others took time to reflect among the huge stone pillars.
People celebrate winter solstice Sunday at Stonehenge, a world-famous prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain, England.
Many make the pilgrimage to the stone circle every summer and winter and consider it a spiritual experience.
The ancient monument, erected between 5,000 and 3,500 years ago, was built to align with the movement of the sun on the solstices — key dates in the calendar for ancient farmers.
People celebrate the winter solstice sunrise Sunday at Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, England.
English Heritage, the organization that manages Stonehenge, said about 8,500 people celebrated Saturday at the monument on Salisbury Plain, about 75 miles southwest of London.
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It added that its livestream of the festivities drew over 242,000 views from around the world.
People celebrate the winter solstice sunrise Sunday at Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, England.
Sunday is the shortest day of the year north of the equator, where the solstice marks the start of astronomical winter. It's the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the longest day of the year and summer will start.
People take part in the winter solstice celebrations Sunday at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England.
The winter solstice is when the sun makes its shortest, lowest arc, but many celebrate it as a time of renewal because after Sunday, the sun starts climbing again and days will get a little longer every day until late June.
Photos: Celebrations, protests and more — a look back at Stonehenge through the years
The Stonehenge landscape of Salisbury Plain in England, Wednesday Sept.15, 2004 when it was announced by English Heritage that they are planning one of the biggest creative conservation projects in the World. The planning application is proposing to remove the roads and reunite Stonehenge and its surrounding monuments to their natural setting. A new visitor centre is planned with an environmentally sensitive transport system which will carry visitors to the site. Old pathways will be restored so that the countryside will be visited and explored.(AP Photo/Dave Caulkin)
A reveler jumps in the air after climbing up on one of the stones forming Stonehenge, near Salisbury, England, as crowds gather before sunrise to mark the summer solstice, Tuesday, June 21, 2005. The ancient stone circle of Stonehenge is a World Heritage Site erected between approximately 3000 B.C. and 1600 B.C. and despite years of research the reason behind its construction remains a mystery. The summer solstice in the northern hemisphere occurs annually on June 21 and is the time at which the sun is at its northernmost point in the sky. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
A reveller performs a fire breathing trick as people gather before sunrise on the summer solstice at Stonehenge, near Salisbury, in England, Tuesday, June 21, 2005. The ancient stone circle of Stonehenge is a World Heritage Site erected between approximately 3000BC and 1600BC and despite years of research the reason behind its construction remains a mystery. The summer solstice in the northern hemisphere occurs annually on June 21 and is the time at which the sun is at its northernmost point in the sky. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
“Ban the Bomb” slogan that appeared in yellow letters, about four feet high, at Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England on March 3, 1961. Police spokesman said stones were defaced in what appeared to be a “kind of distemper.” (AP Photo)
A worshipper of the Pagan Wiccan religion, left, and a friend stand near the ancient stone monument of Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, southern England, as access to the site is given to druids, New Age followers and members of the public to mark the annual Winter Solstice, Friday Dec. 22, 2006. The Pagan celebration of Winter Solstice was marked at sunrise on Friday morning as the solstice occurred at 0022 GMT on Friday. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
A procession of Pagans walks away after celebrating in the ancient stone circle of Stonehenge, as access to the site is given to druids, New Age followers and members of the public to mark the annual Winter Solstice, in Wiltshire, southern England, Friday Dec. 22, 2006. The Pagan celebration of Winter Solstice was marked at sunrise on Friday morning as the solstice occurred at 0022 GMT on Friday. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Couples embrace beside stones forming part of the ancient stone circle of Stonehenge, as access to the site is given to druids, New Age followers and members of the public to mark the annual Winter Solstice, in Wiltshire, southern England, Friday Dec. 22, 2006. The Pagan celebration of Winter Solstice was marked at sunrise on Friday morning as the solstice occurred at 0022 GMT on Friday. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Members of the Ancient Order of Druids celebrate the longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice, near Amesbury, Wiltshire, England, June 22, 1979, at the pre-historic stones of Stonehenge. The ceremony is enacted at the rising of the sun. (AP Photo)
England's Stonehenge, prehistoric monument of circular arrangements of large stones, situated 80 miles west of London on Salisbury Plain, is shown in 1983. (AP Photo/Charles C. Lane)
Carl Klinkenborg, right, and his wife Gigha kiss during their wedding ceremony as people gather to celebrate the summer solstice at Stonehenge in west England, early Sunday, June 21, 2009. The monument attracted some 35 thousand people to mark the longest day of the year when the sunrise was expected at 4:58 am under the cloudy sky. (AP Photo/Akira Suemori)
People raise their hands meditating during the summer solstice shortly after 04.52 am at the Stonehenge monument, England, Monday, June 21, 2010. Thousands of New Agers and neo-pagans danced and whooped in delight Monday as a bright early morning sun rose above the ancient stone circle Stonehenge, marking the summer solstice. About 20,000 people crowded the prehistoric site on Salisbury Plain, southern England, to see the sunrise at 4:52 A.M. (1152EST), following an annual all-night party. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
People raise their hands meditating during the summer solstice shortly after 04.52 am at the Stonehenge monument, England, Monday , June 21, 2010. Thousands of New Agers and neo-pagans danced and whooped in delight Monday as a bright early morning sun rose above the ancient stone circle Stonehenge, marking the summer solstice. About 20,000 people crowded the prehistoric site on Salisbury Plain, southern England, to see the sunrise at 4:52 A.M. (1152EST), following an annual all-night party. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
The Stonehenge monument in England is seen, early Monday ,June 21, 2010. Thousands of New Agers and neo-pagans danced and whooped in delight Monday as a bright early morning sun rose above the ancient stone circle Stonehenge, marking the summer solstice. About 20,000 people crowded the prehistoric site on Salisbury Plain, southern England, to see the sunrise at 4:52 A.M. (1152EST), following an annual all-night party. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
A reveller reaches up to the sky during the summer solstice at Stonehenge, near Salisbury in England, Tuesday, June 21, 2011. The ancient stone circle of Stonehenge is a World Heritage Site erected between approximately 3000BC and 1600BC and despite years of research the reason behind its construction remains a mystery. The summer solstice in the northern hemisphere occurs annually on June 21 and is the time at which the sun is at its northernmost point in the sky. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Revellers cheer as the sun finally breaks through the clouds more than a couple of hours after sunrise during the summer solstice at Stonehenge, near Salisbury in England, Tuesday, June 21, 2011. The ancient stone circle of Stonehenge is a World Heritage Site erected between approximately 3000BC and 1600BC and despite years of research the reason behind its construction remains a mystery. The summer solstice in the northern hemisphere occurs annually on June 21 and is the time at which the sun is at its northernmost point in the sky. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
People play music and dance near Stonehenge, southern England late Friday June 20, 2008 in anticipation of the mystical moment when the sun rises Saturday over the stones for the summer solstice. Beating drums and wearing rainbow cloaks, the revelers walked through light rain to talk, dance and meditate as they waited for Saturday's 4:58 a.m. sunrise, which starts the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Comet Hale-Bopp seen above the ancient stone circle of Stonehenge in south west England Friday, March 28, 1997. Stonehenge, a collection of Bronze Age monuments, was constructed, according to modern archeological research, around 2000 BC. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
People dance in celebration during the summer solstice shortly after 04:52 am at the prehistoric Stonehenge monument, near Salisbury, England, Friday, June 21, 2013. Following an annual all-night party, thousands of New Agers and neo-pagans danced and whooped in delight at the ancient stone circle Stonehenge, marking the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Revelers meditate next to stones at sunrise as thousands gather at the ancient stone circle Stonehenge to celebrate the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, near Salisbury, England, Friday, June 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
An Archdruid performs a ritual near to the cordoned off Stonehenge as a small group of people gathered to celebrate the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, near Salisbury, England, Sunday, June 21, 2020. The coronavirus pandemic has prevented druids, pagans and partygoers from watching the sun rise at Stonehenge to mark the summer solstice. The ancient stone circle usually draws thousands of people to mark the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. But Britain has banned mass gatherings as part of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. English Heritage, the body that oversees Stonehenge, livestreamed the sunrise instead. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)
