Tomorrow (Saturday, December 21) marks the winter solstice, also known as the shortest day of the year.
Winter solstice occurs when the earth’s tilt is at its furthest point away from the sun and the sun is at its lowest in the sky. This gives us the shortest day and longest night of the year.
The world ‘solstice’ comes from the Latin ‘solstitium’, meaning ‘Sun stands still’, because the apparent movement of the Sun’s path north or south stops before changing direction.
This year, the actual moment of the solstice will occur at 9:21am GMT, and in London the day will last 7 hours 49 minutes and 42 seconds. That’s 8 hours and 49 minutes shorter than the longest day of the year. But people generally concentrate on, and celebrate, the whole day.
Stonehenge is one of the most popular sites to visit in the UK for both summer and winter solstice, and is only an hour and a half from Bristol, but did you know there’s another incredible site you can visit on the solstice that’s closer?
Every year people visit the Glastonbury Tor to welcome the winter solstice. For druids and pagans it represents the start of the ‘new year’ as the sun slowly begins to return. Near the 14th century church of St Michael there are fires, drumming, and singing.
In the wider area there open air celebrations, meditations, and fire ceremonies. In the town’s assembly rooms there is a free special celebration from 7:30pm which includes poetry, storytellers, and a choir.
During prior winter solstices, attendees have described is as, ” a celebration of community, but most importantly of our connection to the earth,” according to previous reports.
This wide-ranging celebration of winter solstice and its proximity to Bristol makes it the perfect place to visit and welcome in the beginning of winter.