So, today is the Winter Solstice and traditionally (pre-Christmas) this was the time of year that the Celts and many others celebrated the shortest day of the year.
In Ireland the passage and chamber of Newgrange (Pre-Celtic or possibly Proto-Celtic 3,200 BCE), a tomb in Ireland, are illuminated by the winter solstice sunrise. A shaft of sunlight shines through the roof box over the entrance and penetrates the passage to light up the chamber. The dramatic event lasts for 17 minutes at dawn from the 19th to the 23rd of December. If you want to see this from your cubicle, for the first time in history they are doing a live webcast of the event. http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/Solstice2007/
What am I doing on this special day? Working, oh, and we have a white elephant gift exchange. Yeaeaahhh! :-( The upside is that this is my last day and I am off until New Years.
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