Have You Heard Of The Stonehenge Summer Solstice?

Celebrating the northern hemisphere’s shortest night and longest day couldn’t be more mystical – presenting The Stonehenge Summer Solstice, that is taking place this June 18 to 21 in Wiltshire, England.

We at Festival Sherpa take pride in introducing our readers to the weirdest/coolest/most amazeballs and yet, unsung and underrated festivals from the shiftiest crevices of the world. Ergo, we love discovering new festivals. And we love enthusing about them to you. Here’s this week’s fix of quirky for you

Every year, at the height of the considerably tame English summer, comes a festival/gathering of druids, witches and other pagan entities who celebrate the summer solstice by watching the sunrise on June 21st. The celebrations start the night prior to the sunrise, that also happens to be the shortest night of the year.

The Stonehenge is a popular gathering site in general, which is why Neopagans or Guardians of Stonehenge allow worshippers from everywhere to come and pay homage on what is supposed to be the most auspicious day of the year.

The festival/gathering is absolute free and open to anyone who is interested and is quite a spiritual experience. Druids, new age believers and hippies gather around and recite ancient hymns and rites in circles, while drummers play their tribal beats giving a sense of rhythm to the gathering.

This is the only time of the year visitors are allowed to touch the stones, making it a spiritual experience to connect with these big rocks. The great irony of this festival is caused by the dreadful English weather, as sometimes its summers often come with torrential rain. For a festival that is supposed to cherish and celebrate a sun deity, this seems rather unfortunate and funny. Regardless, no spirits are dampened as the gathering never wanes due to the rain. If you do plan on partaking, make sure you come with an extra pair of clothes and a raincoat just for this reason.

And while, this congregation may seem a little nutty, you have to admire the fact that over 20000 pilgrims attend it, regardless of weather conditions. There perseverance only proves the positive energy of these people and their ceremony, which can even move and inspire a non-spiritual person.