Happy Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice, and the only place one should be is in Ireland at Newgrange in the Boyne River valley or in county Kerry, in Dingle at the Gallarus Oratory! The longest day of the year and to witness the spectacular sunrise/sunset.

No one is really sure how long ago humans recognized the winter solstice and began heralding it as a turning point but to visit one of these two locations during winter solctice you have to really wonder. It is amazing to think that 10.000 years ago Neolithic peoples who were the first farmers were intimately tied to the seasons and the cycle of harvest - which would mean that they were attuned to the movement of celestial objects and seasons. Stonehedge in England, Newgrange and Gallarus in Ireland, Orkney Islands north of Scotland, and even in North America, one of the most famous such sites is the Sun Dagger of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, built a thousand years ago by the Chacoans, ancestors of the Pueblo people. All watching the seasons of the sun. The winter Solstice is so amazing!

We were lucky enough to be at the Gallarus Oratory in Irlend in 2007 on the Winter Solstice, and then in Newgrange inside the tombs a few days later. Although the sun was playing "coy" that day, the emotions and feelings just to be there had to give you chills!

Here are a few pictures I had taken on the Winter Solstice in Ireland.


This use to be an early Christian church located on the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland. Though the building is believed to have been built between the 6th century and 9th century, some believe it could have been built as late as the 12th century because the east window has a rounded top made of two carved stones (not a true arch).


This small oratory, built without mortar, uses corbel vaulting, a technique developed by Neolithic tomb-makers. It is dimly lit, with only a tiny window opposite the entrance door. Shaped like an upturned boat, this miniature church overlooks the harbour at Ard na Caithne (formerly also called Smerwick) on the Dingle Peninsula.

According to local legend, if a person climbs out of the oratory via the window, their soul will be cleansed. This is, however, physically impossible, because the window is approximately 7 inches in length and 41/2 inches in width.


See that tiny window in back? The building is sited in such a way that at sunrise on the Winter Solstice, the light enters that window and lights the interior. It's the only time of the year it happens.



This is a view looking in the door and out the back opening.

It is truly hard to believe this little building as old as it is was built only of stones, no motar, and today it still is bone dry inside.

AHHHHHHHHHHHH to only be standing there now as I was two years ago!!!

I just found this and thought I would add it, maybe it better explains it, rather then me!!

What exactly is the winter solstice?
The bleak news: It's the shortest day of the year, meaning the earth's tilt is at 23.5 degrees. As LiveScience puts it, the top half of the earth will spin on its axis away from the sun. Most of us will experience daylight for only about nine short hours. But it gets worse: The weather will actually get colder. Without sunlight to warm the ocean, temperatures will continue to drop.

There is a bright side: From here on out, minute by minute, each day gets a little bit longer. In other words: Countdown to summer. The summer solstice falls around June 21, marking the longest day of the year. Take that, winter!!!!!!