Winter Solstice

Have you ever wanted to be at Stonehenge during solstice, or watch the Winter solstice sunrise at Newgrange? For the first time ever, there's a live webcast of the illumination at Newgrange cairn via Heritage Ireland. You can tune in on both December 21st and 22nd, starting at 8:30 am Greenwich Mean Time, which translates to the wee hours of 3:30 am EST.

Just at sunrise on the days around Winter Solstice, rays of light beam down a corridor and into the burial chamber of Newgrange. The light shines on the triple spiral symbol shown here, one that is often linked to the Celts, but actually pre-dates them. The local visitor's center has a lottery every year, and though thousands apply to be in the chamber, only two gain entry, for each day around Winter Solstice. Last year, according to the site, 'Joe and Clare...experienced a glorious sunrise in the chamber.' The webcast this year means anyone can tune into the sacred turning of the solar year at Newgrange, just as they did 5,000 years ago.