Winter Solstice: the Turning of the Light and the Passing of Time
The winter solstice has always held a fascination for me. As a child I remember the moment I first heard about a special place in Ireland that flooded with sunlight at the same moment each year. This was as much as I understood then, but it was enough to fill me with wonder. How could human beings in my wee country know how to build such structure thousands of years ago?
The magical sounding place that captivated me so is Newgrange, a passage tomb in County Meath over 5,000-years-old . Each year, at sunrise on the Northern Hemisphere’s shortest day (21st or 22nd of December) a shaft of sunlight illuminates the passage and makes its way to the inner burial chamber – Irish weather permitting, of course. Newgrange is the first prehistoric site in Ireland to have its astronomical alignment widely accepted, but this did not happen until Prof. Michael J Kelly and his team of excavators realised it as recently as 1967! This was a mere five years before I was born, so it is no wonder the winter solstice entered my childhood consciousness so powerfully. To think of the winter solstice sunlight entering the burial chamber for countless years without people bearing witness to it, only makes me appreciate it even more.
During the first long winter of Covid restrictions, when so many of us retreated indoors, the winter solstice at Newgrange was streamed online. I cannot explain how profoundly comforting this was for me. The thoughtful commentary from Dr Clare Tuffy and Dr Frank Prendergast and the uninterrupted view permitted the absence of people, enabled thousands of online viewers to experience the solstice like never before. The feeling of connection to the generations of the past and to the other invisible viewers of the present, was deeply grounding. It reminded me how life endures beyond our own lifetimes: the earth rotates and the sun rises. This experience was a significant point in my journey into becoming a celebrant, not only to celebrate individual lives but the continuity of life itself. When I visited Brú na Bóinne in summer 2025 and entered the passage at Newgrange, (see my snap below) I am unashamed to say I shed a tear. Standing in the special place built to face the sun and where ceremonies took place so long ago felt momentous and awe inspiring.
The image shows the Kerbstone in front of the entrance to Newgrange, in Brú na Bóinne, Co. Meath. The roof box, the exact point of the solar alignment is above the stone. The swirling art on the kerbstone, which influenced the logo for Kate Mukungu Community Celebrant, is typical of the rock art on hundreds of Kerbstones at the site,
People have always sought meaning in the rhythms of lightness and darkness. The winter solstice is woven into ancient calendars and pagan rituals and religious festivals throughout the world, many of which celebrate light over darkness. It is no accident that the winter solstice occurs so close to the end of the calendar year, because Julius Caesar made it so. I guess it is one of the reasons why the period between winter solstice and new year is such time of reflection. I think the winter solstice holds a new significance for me in recent years. I now hold it dear because of what it brings, as well as for the mystery of solar alignment. And what it brings is the turning of the light and the promise of hope through the stretching of daylight; indeed the stretching of time itself.
Had I been an English child, my fascination may have been for the alignment of the summer solstice at Stonehenge. And as wondrous as Stonehenge is, Newgrange remains my touchstone. In some ways, the power of the winter solstice is difficult to visualise in the modern day, given that so much of our light comes from manufactured sources. But people have always craved the stretching of the light, and I find I am no different. Each winter solstice, I don’t just mark the shortest day; I pause to feel the continuity it represents. I continue to watch the annual online coverage from Newgrange, which I heartily recommend. When I do, I think of the ancient builders there who celebrated the return of the light so spectacularly. And I take comfort in the knowledge that, even in uncertain times, the sun will rise again.