Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press
June 21, 2007 — Druids, drummers, pagans and partygoers welcomed the sun Thursday as it rose above the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge on the longest day of the year — the summer solstice.
Clad in antlers, black cloaks and oak leaves, a group of druids cheered and danced at the Heel stone — a twisted, pockmarked pillar at the edge of Stonehenge.
"Happy solstice!" said Laura Tungate, a 26-year-old financial adviser from Newcastle, who wore a giant rainbow sweater and offered hugs to smiling passers-by.
Taking a swig from a mug of vodka and Red Bull, she said she had been coming to the solstice ceremony for the past eight years.
"I love the whole vibe, and the energy, and the fact that these stones, that they are alive, they do breathe, and they do grow ... and they're massive!" she said.
About 24,000 people gathered at the stone circle in Wiltshire, in southwestern England. Dancers writhed to the sound of drums and whistles as floodlights colored the ancient pillars shades of pink and purple. Couples snuggled under plastic sheets.
Solstice celebrations were a highlight of the pre-Christian calendar. Bonfires, maypole dances, and courtship rituals linger on in many countries as holdovers from Europe's pagan past.
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 men and women seeking a spiritual experience — or just wanting to have a good time.
Jeanette Montesano, a 23-year-old recently graduated religion student from New York City and a self-described pagan, said she had been saving for a year to make it to Stonehenge, comparing the importance of the trip to the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia.
"It's not the hajj, but it is (thousands of) people in a little circle. I wanted to experience something like that," she said.
