Pagan Solstice Worshipers Heading for Stonehenge
Pastor Dale Morgan
Jun 20, 3:45 PM EDT
*
Pagan Solstice Worshipers, New Agers, Heading for Stonehenge*
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP) -- Thousands of modern-day new age druids, pagans and
partygoers converged on Stonehenge late Wednesday as people across the
northern hemisphere prepared to welcome the summer solstice - the
longest day of the year.
Thursday's sunrise will be welcomed by about 20,000 people expected to
crowd around the ancient circle of stones in Wiltshire, southern England.
Solstice celebrations were a highlight of the pre-Christian calendar.
People in many countries still celebrate with bonfires, maypole dances,
and courtship rituals.
In more recent years, New Age groups and others have turned to
Stonehenge to celebrate the solstice, and the World Heritage Site has
become a magnet for those seeking a spiritual experience - or just
wanting to have a good time.
But the celebrations can also attract their share of troublemakers.
Police closed the site in 1984 after repeated clashes with revelers.
English Heritage, the monument's caretaker, began allowing full access
to the site again in 2000.
Police will be present just in case the hedonists get out of hand, and
to prevent revelers from climbing the stones.
Solstice celebrations also take place in other countries, although most
are deferred until the last weekend in June. Swedes will gather to sip
spiced schnapps, Danes will light bonfires, and Balts and Finns will
flock to the countryside to dance, sing and make merry under the
midnight sun.
Stonehenge, on the Salisbury Plain 80 miles southwest of London, was
built between 3,000 B.C. and 1,600 B.C., although its purpose remains a
mystery. Some experts say its builders aligned the stones with the sun
as part of their sun-worshipping culture.
It is one of 20 monuments competing to be named one of the new seven
wonders of the world in a massive online poll.
---
Associated Press writers Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, Louise
Nordstrom in Stockholm, Sweden, Gary Peach in Riga, Latvia, and Matti
Huuhtanen in Helsinki, Finland contributed to this report.
---
On the Net:
Stonehenge: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.876