Topline

Cultures around the world are preparing for the winter solstice this Saturday, including with celebrations, special meals and several live-streamed events from historical monuments such as Stonehenge in England and Newgrange in Ireland.

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Where to see the winter solstice celebrations

Monuments such as Stonehenge in England (built in 2500 BC) and the Torreon in Machu Picchu, Peru (built around 1450) were built to track and predict the movement of the sun. While scientists now have much more information about the universe, the astronomical event is still celebrated and followed through the monuments erected thousands of years ago. English Heritage, a charity that looks after Stonehenge, will invite thousands of people to watch the sunrise at the monument and the event will be livestreamed. In Ireland 3,200 BC. An ancient tomb called Newgrange was built in 188 BC to allow light into its chamber only at sunrise on the winter solstice, and the memorial will broadcast the phenomenon live from the aisle on Saturday.

How the winter solstice is celebrated around the world

Historically, the winter solstice has been celebrated worldwide as a time of renewal and rebirth, as it marks the return of light after a period of darkness (the days become longer again after months of shortening). Brighton, England, will host its annual Burning the Clocks festival and parade on Saturday, with thousands of people walking through the city with paper lanterns to burn in a bonfire to say goodbye to the past and welcome in the New Year greet. For the 31st year in a row, Vancouver is hosting the Winter Solstice Lantern Festival to fill the streets with light on the darkest nights. Millions of people around the world celebrate the Persian Yalda festival, which marks the sunrise after the longest night of the year, when evil forces are said to have had the greatest power. During the Yalda celebration, people eat pomegranates as a symbol of protection from evil spirits and watermelons as protection from winter cold and summer heat. In Japan, it is traditional to take a “yuzu bath,” a hot bath with whole yuzu citrus fruits floating in steaming water, to invite health and happiness into the new year. One of the world’s oldest winter solstice celebrations, Christmas, according to German and pagan traditions, involves the burning of a Yule log – often the largest log a family can find – on the shortest and darkest day of the year. The tree trunk would be burned for 12 days and the ashes would be saved to fertilize spring crops.

Further reading

ForbesThis week, see the Star of Bethlehem, the Solstice, and Shooting Stars: The Night SkyFrom Jamie Carter
ForbesIn Photos: Watch the Cold Moon light up the Christmas sky in an 18-year eventFrom Jamie Carter