UK: Pagans, Druids and Witches gather at Stonehenge for Winter Solstice

" a tradition that has gone on for at least 5000 years"!  This would make their gods old, very old. Ancient in fact.

Thousands of people including Pagans, Druids and Witches, gathered at Stonehenge in England's county of Wiltshire, Tuesday, to attend the annual Winter Solstice ceremony, marking the shortest day and longest night of the year. Hundreds of Druids attended the Winter Solstice ceremony, many of them in traditional costume, while performing ceremonies with music and dances around the prehistoric monument, with many participants touching the ancient stones for its 'healing energy.'

Meet King Arthur Pendragon

Isn't it nice that they can continue this ancient religious practice without the fear of persecution by Christians ?

If you had not included the line,

I'd like the post, as bringing something different into the religious section, than the same old.

It 'is pretty cool how old Stonehedge is though,

Interesting to think about how the surroundings might have changed over such a period of time,

Wonder about the people who build it,

What those who saw it thought of it.

For these Pagans to be able to continue their ancient practices unmolested and not murdered for believing different is a part and testamant of their endurance . 

They appear to have been a quite peaceful bunch although the bible does say they -  Pagans- were once baby burners.

Deuteronomy 12:29-32 29The LORD your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, 30and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, "How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same." 31You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. 32See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

And I see you 'continue the very behavior I noted, I view a detriment of your character.

Jabbing at Christians, I mean.

When we could have just talked about how cool Stonehenge and different belief systems are.

I've met theists and atheists both,

Who've been bad to their kids.

. . .

I've heard times before, that,

"While they were reported to have been literate, they are believed to have been prevented by doctrine from recording their knowledge in written form"

I suppose I might find it fun today, to read on Oral tradition some,

While I 'do think oral tradition would be valuable for learning, retention, comprehension,

At face value, it risks being lost easily, seems to me.

Even 'with poetic structure to aid memorization and keep it the same.

Well I made the thread more about the pagan religious practices and rituals taking place at the Henge at the moment rather than the ancient monument itself. 

But yes, Stonehenge is still an absolute mystery . Is it a calendar? Is it a star clock?  No one to this day actually knows. There are new theories being put forward everyday. I also wonder should we ever discover it true purpose, what then?

I have been to Stonehenge a few times in my time. Once you have seen it the mind starts immediately questioning its purpose or if it had one at all? I find it difficult to believe that it was `art for arts sake`, so to speak.

Meet  King Arthur, AKA John Timothy Rothwell. King Arthur Uther Pendragon Holds Pagan Rituals at Stonehenge (nbcnews.com)

"Before this transformation, he was a British Army soldier and a member of a biker gang. Now he is a pagan priest, a sword-bearer and the chieftain druid of this anachronistic creed.
"Every day, I wake up Arthur, I go to sleep Arthur. I wake up a druid, I go to sleep a druid," he said.

 Shortest period of daylight and longest night of the year.

I would 'figure, but do not know,

That Calanders and star charts could be devised or known by other means than a giant of a structure.

To my mind, (Which is uneducated on the subject)

It's value is one of meaning,

Symbolism, celebration, ceremony, whether cultural or religious.

Though I 'really can't imagine who's responsible for it,

A king, a spiritual leader, the people en masse,

Engaged by the idea of what they were to make?

Did all 'understand what they were making, and share together the same motivations,

A builder sometimes cares more for payment, than the use that is the clients interest.

But I'm rambling.

. . .

Art for arts sake, 'is a motivation often for people,

But I also think people create art for meaning,

Royal thrones or capital cities, decorated to show importance, prestige,

Places of worship or business,

Decorated, fine carved, to show the regard one holds.

Then maybe -  folly - would have been a better expression.

Why folly?

One see's art in groups 'and individuals.

See's it as an expression of groups and individuals thoughts, emotions.

As a person might yell out in pain or exuberance, happiness or sadness.

A focal, so to speak.

A spartan home, with no paint, shaped as a bock, curtains untinged by dye,

Is not so common,

But perhaps I speak too much from my own experiences and perspectives,

And miss other viewpoints.

I am not saying it is/was. I am saying I find it hard to believe it was a folly. After I said-  I find it difficult believe it was simply ` art for arts sake` so to speak.#5

Ah, that is an official definition, I see now, after Google-ing.

I thought you meant it as in 

Even art serves a 'purpose, I'd say,

Memorial Day in America, could be called art.

The manner in which the flags are erected, memorializing and showing respect to those who have died for their country.

Evocation of human emotion, will, appreciation.

Is practical.

I am still puzzled and fascinated with them. As I am Angkor Wat. And the Indian Vimanas

The thing about ancient monuments is  before light pollution the sky would have been so bright and the stars would have been so defined that our ancient ancestors had a far more familiar relationship with the skies than we do. There are reflection pools at Aztec temples where they did stargazing so they didn't have to strain and look up the whole time. While the moon would have been their timekeeper from month to month, they had to find a way to mark what time of year it was. There's a reason that a lot of these monuments line up with a solstice because the solstice points are midway through the season. You could then based on where the moon was in relation to the solstice when it would be safe to plant and not lose your seeds to frost. I would not be surprised if there wasn't a table or platform at some point in Stonehenge where offerings would have been made in the form of live animals being sacrificed to make sure that they got through winter without starving. And I believe it's that general area too where they found bog people and they've kind of determined that those were probably human sacrifices. It is nice though that they get to go and celebrate at Stonehenge because it's my understanding most of the time it's shut down you really can't get very close to it.

Are you a member of a Grove, Witch?

I'm not a druid so no. I'm also not a member of a coven, I'm a solitary. My religion is Heathenism, the pre- Christian gods of the Germans, Norse and Anglo-Saxons.  Stonehenge is not part of my wheelhouse but it would still be interesting to see.

That'll be  the Iron Age then. circa1200 BC?

Those gods were  predominant and worshipped in the Bronze Age as well. That's before the Iron Age right? but it probably goes back before that. It's an animist based religion not sure exactly when that might have started. 

Ignorance and made up explanations.

And star gazing is good for sure.

As is convening with nature.

And I do both.

But without the need to make up GODs.

We all have needs I suppose.

And Stonehenge is interesting archaic architecture.

And of course those that gather at Stonehenge are similarly homo-sapiens/blobs of organic goo.

Labels such Pagan, Druid, Witch and Christian are the latterly applied stuff of imagination.

And in the interests of equality......Atheists are also known to visit Stonehenge.

The most  amazing thing is (in my opinion)...... Some of the stones were dragged all the way from Pembrokeshire.

Now there's determination for you.

Indeed. I have been there myself, Vic lad. Curiosity you understand

Me too.

Curiosity indeed.

The answer to your question is yes, it is. However, I'm unclear specifically to which persecution you're referring

That could well be as early as 3700 BC. That's ancient then , Witch?

I told you earlier I'm not discussing it with you and you continue to bring it up this is at this point the 22nd reference to it.

Lets make it 23rd.

I was stating a fact, Witch.

That if as you say, these pagan gods were from before the bronze or iron age, then this would certainly make them Ancient gods. 

  So given that you have also told us that your Pagan gods and the Norse gods come from another world / planet, i.e. not of this earth, this would make these beings ancient alien gods. The very type of being that you mock and deny existed.

I will bring up the fact that on the one hand you freely  mock anyone that considers ancient alien gods on the one hand, while believing  yourself on the other hand that these ancient alien gods existed

And I will remind you of your double standards and hypocrisy when and if the  occasion arises.

Your choice to ask after being told no twice. Just so you are aware again your were told nope.

By participating, you have clearly shown the worth of the Forum Poly.

And recent academic thinking, suggests that Stonehenge was probably built as both a reverential and tourist attraction.

Like walking hundreds of miles to visit Santiago de Compostela.

Someone's always taking money from the gullible along the way.

And the gullible are always prepared to walk hundreds of miles and cough up.

And everyone is happy.

Let's keep in mind that as far as we can tell, Stonehenge had been out of use for better than 2000 years when the first Druid is mentioned in European literature.  The Romans wiped out the Druids in the first few decades of occupation and they remained forgotten until the Renaissance got people reading about Druids in the works of Caesar and Cicero.  While the ancient Neolithic peoples who raised those stones were certainly Pagan by definition they weren't Druids, which is a much younger Celtic tradition and they weren't witches, which is an even younger Christian (or anti-Christian if you like) tradition.  Throughout Roman, Saxon, Viking, Norman, English eras, Stonehenge was just another of the thousands of stone circle remnants dotted across Europe from Turkey to the Hebrides, albeit larger and more complete than just about any other.  The Romans thought little of Stonehenge except as another ruin to plow around or picnic upon.  The Romans would certainly have noticed any religious activity around those stones and would have either co-opted that tradition or exterminated it.  Likewise, no Norman or English king would have tolerated any unchristian worship within their boundaries.

It is not accurate to say that Stonehenge's traditional purpose was Druid or Wicca.  It is not accurate to suppose that any tradition has been handed down for 5,000 years surrounding this landmark.  We know very little about why Stonehenge was built or how it was used although remembering people who had died in the past year and perhaps bringing their ashes to Stonehenge on the day when the Sun seems closest to dying does seem to be a part of it.  Most Stonehenge traditions are less than 200 years old and popular associations with Druidism or Wicca are only about 50 or 60 years old.

Wicca wasn't a religion in until the early 1950s

Someone likes Stonehenge. They like hiking. So they hike to Stonehenge for fun. They have to pay to do so. You call them gullible.

You like the countryside. You like biking. So you bike along the countryside. You have to pay to do so. But somehow, you're not gullible?

Why? Because when you spend your money on what you want, that's reasonable because - it's what YOU want.

When someone else spends their money on what they want, if it isn't also something you want, the person has been swindled.

The unexamined logic is not worth having.