Next: about 21 Dec 2026
Winter solstice at Newgrange
The rising sun lights the inner chamber of the Irish passage tomb at Newgrange for a few minutes, and Stonehenge marks the midwinter sunset.
About Winter solstice at Newgrange
At Newgrange in County Meath, a passage tomb about five thousand years old, a roof box above the entrance lets the winter solstice sunrise shine along the passage and light the chamber for a short time. Access on the day is by lottery, and many people watch via live video. Its builders' beliefs are not recorded, and the standard reading is that it was a tomb and a ceremonial place tied to the sun and the dead. At Stonehenge the midwinter sunset is the aligned event, and Druids and Pagans gather there too. Solstice rites in other parts of the world, from Dongzhi to Inti Raymi in the southern hemisphere, are kept in the same turn of the year.
Also part of it, and being written: Newgrange (The passage tomb and its roof box.), Winter solstice (The astronomical event.), Stonehenge (The midwinter sunset alignment.), Yule (The Germanic midwinter feast.).
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Newgrange" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family, and are described as belief and practice. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.