LONDON — Thousands of modern-day 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 revellers. 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 revellers 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 about 130 kilometres southwest of London, was built between 3,000 BC and 1,600 BC, although its purpose remains a mystery. Some experts say its builders aligned the stones with the sun as part of their sun-worshipping culture.
