Today and tomorrow are the shortest days of the year. Although the sunset and sunrise times only change marginally in the last week and indeed in the fortnight ahead.
Back in 2018 I spent a rather chilly dawn at Avebury stone circle with around 100 hardy folk to celebrate the zenith of the year and potentially the return of longer days as the darkest days were over. This year that may not be possible due to Covid-19 restrictions.
At the time I wrote: “On December 20th, 2018, around 100 people gathered within the inner circle of stones at Avebury in Wiltshire at dawn. The weather was cold, wet and very windy – and the sun was all but covered by a wall of mist, low cloud and greyness, but despite it all the shortest day of the year was marked in a joyous and uplifting way with poetry, flasks of coffee and song. A very British Solstice – genteel, friendly and fun. If a little soggy.”
There’s a video of the occasion at http://www.harrymottram.co.uk/2018/12/29/video-the-circle-of-friends-forms-at-the-winter-solstice-in-avebury/?preview_id=3899&preview_nonce=03a3d50510&preview=true
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