As we all hurtle through the festivities in a frenzy of shopping and merriment it’s easy to miss the good tidings that are right under our noses. The winter solstice on 21 December, marking the shortest day of the year, is a reminder that brighter days are coming.
Thousands of people, including new-age pagans and the spiritually minded or curious, flock to Stonehenge for the event, but it’s a tradition more of us should embrace – and there are other places to do so.
I discovered a small pocket of eastern Ireland, an hour’s drive north of central Dublin, that has celebrated the winter solstice as a symbol of renewal and rebirth for thousands of years.
Newgrange, a prehistoric tomb and Unesco World Heritage Site that predates the Pyramids of Giza, offers a unique solstice experience. The grassy mound is 85-metres high and sits in the rolling countryside of County Meath in an area known as Brú na Bóinne in the Boyne Valley, with two similar prehistoric passage tombs – Knowth and Dowth – nearby.
For a long time, Newgrange was thought to be a tomb, and nothing else. Then, in the 1960s, archaeologists discovered that the narrow 19-metre passage and chamber were skilfully engineered to align with the rising sun on the morning of the winter solstice. Small groups now gather inside to witness the first ray of sunlight illuminate the tomb on the shortest day of the year.
When the first ray of sunlight jets into the dark chamber at sunrise (depending on cloud cover) it enters through a precise opening, known as the “roof box”, which sits above the front door. The passage into the chamber is built on an incline, so, when you’re inside, the light streams in at your feet.
“It was precisely engineered 5,000 years ago by Neolithic builders who knew how to align the floor inside level with the roof box outside,” says my guide, Leontia Lenehan.
Entering the tomb, sure enough, I must stoop to walk through a small door and edge ever-so-slightly upwards into the chamber. Visitors are asked to hold their bags low to avoid scraping and eroding the narrow stone passage. I only tentatively stand up once fully inside the pitch dark hollow.
The solstice sunlight is simulated using technology to show visitors how it works at any time of the year. But, first, my guide explains why people in ancient times wanted to shine a light on their dead.
“It’s so obvious they didn’t believe death is the end,” she says. “They believed strongly in an afterlife and that the sun was the giver of new life, and so everything aligns.”
We’re in there a few minutes before this magic trick occurs (with the flick of a switch) and, as I wait, I sense an instant connection to the past. There’s a simple feeling that thousands of years ago people stood in this exact spot waiting for sunlight to reverberate around the tomb walls.
This pull towards previous generations has a profound impact on visitors every December.
“People could be inside for an hour, standing in the dark waiting for that ray of sunlight to hit,” Lenehan says.
“It’s so dark initially and no one can see the size of the chamber or anyone around them, so people tend to open up.” She says it can be an “emotional” experience.
“We often find people cry and share intimate secrets or reasons for visiting out loud in the darkness.”
When the light appears (and it’s never guaranteed) on the morning of the solstice, the atmosphere shifts, says Lenehan.
“People most commonly will feel a deep connection to the past and they’ll tell us they feel a strong energy. They reach out to put their hand in the light, and everybody gets very excited. It’s a truly wonderful experience.”
Plans for the event start each September. Access to the tomb is split over five mornings and, to manage demand, local school children pick winners in a lottery. Thirteen lucky participants (including a guide) will enter this Saturday, with a further 38 names selected at random for entry on the two days either side of the solstice (each can bring a guest).
“We get people from all over the world travelling in and this year we’ll have visitors from North Carolina [USA], Austria and Spain,” says Lenehan.
“It’s such a rare event and you’re literally getting the chance to do exactly what people did 5,000 years ago – there’s a strong symbolism in the days getting longer.”
Thousands were expected to surround Newgrange to sing, dance and hold hands in celebration of the solstice this year.
“We’re not on the scale of Stonehenge, but the atmosphere is so fun and joyful,” adds Lenehan.
The Boyne Valley is the first national park in Ireland’s north-east, as well as the country’s richest archaeological landscape, woven with myth and legend.
“Every significant historical event that has happened in Europe in the last 5,000 years has left its footprints on the Boyne Valley, from Cromwell to medieval battles,” says David Gilroy, of Meath County Council. “The river itself has been flowing for 10,000 years.”
The River Boyne (Bóinn) is significant to Irish mythology and flows through the region. In legend, the river was created by the queen and goddess Boann (meaning “shining cow”) who challenged the power of a magical well by walking around it counterclockwise. This caused its waters to surge and sweep her up in a flood that created the river’s course and, in turn, took her life.
“It’s not particularly significant physically, but mythologically, historically and emotionally it is massively important to the people from this area,” says Gliroy.
Visitors can follow the river’s course by kayak or follow the Boyne Greenway cycle route and footpaths along its banks.
There are further layers of history to uncover in the Boyne Valley. The Battle of the Boyne was fought across the banks of the river in 1690 between King William III and his father-in-law King James II.
Meanwhile, Trim Castle, built in 1172 on the southern bank of the river, is the largest, best-preserved Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland and it was a filming location for Braveheart (1995). County Meath also has claims to the origins of Halloween. Folklore suggests that Samhain, the Celtic harvest festival, began in the Boyne Valley more than 2,000 years ago with the Samhain fire festival. The celebration marked the end of summer and the rise of winter.
There’s also a significant and celebrated Viking presence in this ancient part of Ireland. A lunchtime pitstop at The Glyde Inn further up the coast in Annagassan, County Louth offers a new viking-themed VR experience and seafood banquet. Sitting around a Viking-boat shaped table, I put on a headset and travel back in time through the eyes of “Bjorn the Bear” into ancient Annagassan, which was the capital of Ireland during the Viking age.
The real draw here is the delicious menu of fresh seafood and foraged ingredients, including buttery razor clams, Clogherhead langoustines, Carlingford oysters and soda bread from the nearby O’Neill’s bakery. I eat in the restaurant’s bright sunroom with a backdrop of the wild Irish sea and shadowy glimpses of Northern Ireland. You can also try the brewed-on-site “Viking beer” in the family-run pub at the front of Glyde’s that’s been open since 1770.
But, in true Irish form, a feast wouldn’t be a feast without stories to share.
“It’s the stories that are the most important part. Without them, these monuments and castles and pubs are just stacks of stones,” adds Gilroy.
“It’s the stories that make it all so special.”
Getting there
Judy Cogan was a guest of Discover Boyne Valley. She flew with Aer Lingus, which offers flights between the UK and Dublin.
Boyne Valley is a 40-minute drive from Dublin airport.Staying there
Doubles at the four-start Trim Castle Hotel in Meath start from £100 per night, with accessible rooms available, trimcastlehotel.com
The Headfort Arms Hotel in Kells has rooms from £82 per night, with accessible rooms available, headfortarms.ie.
More information
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