Every year, the winter solstice is a real event in Ireland! The country is home to many megaliths, making for a spectacular sight at the start of winter!
In fact, it’s at Newgrange, on the megalithic site of Brú Na Bóinne in County Meath, that the winter solstice is at its most magical! Newgrange is a 5,000-year-old prehistoric site. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it alone is much older than the Pyramids of Giza!
This is a cairn with a corridor tomb. And that’s where the winter solstice comes in!
Every year, the same phenomenon takes place: at sunrise, the rays line up to penetrate the cairn and bathe the burial chamber at the back of the building in light. The show is incredible!
The phenomenon was first observed a few years after the archaeological discovery of Newgrange. On December 21, 1967, Professor M. J. O’Kelly was on site. The sun rises, and the rays slip through) the mposte above the entrance to the cairn… The light cuts straight through the long megalithic corridor before striking the bedroom!
Since then, many Irish people and travelers from all over the world have gathered in Newgrange on the day of the winter solstice. They all have one goal in mind: to see the sun rise and its rays penetrate the cairn. The icing on the cake: the phenomenon has become so popular, that a draw even allows a few spectators to enter the funeral home to live the experience from the inside!
It’s a symbolic, historic and cultural experience that delights thousands of visitors every year! (Provided, of course, that the sky isn’t too overcast).
If you’re afraid of the World but want to experience it, Newgrange isn’t the only site in Ireland to offer such a spectacle. We also recommend Beaghmore Stones, in County Tyrone: at sunrise, the rays line up with the rows of megaliths.
(Post originally posted in November 2019)
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