Summer and winter solstice celebrations around the globe
Informal gathering at Griffith Park to celebrate summer solstice. (Claire Hannah Collins / Los Angeles Times)
The summer and winter solstices mark the longest and shorts days of the year depending on where you are in the world. In Southern England, thousands gathered to watch the sunrise at Stonehenge on Wednesday morning, on the longest day of the year. Across the Atlantic, thousands of yogis travel to Times Square to celebrate the Summer Solstice with free yoga classes all day long in the heart of New York City.
Not to be outdone, more than 1,000 Aussies celebrating the winter solstice down under bared it all in a skinny dipping tradition with temperatures at 39 degrees fahrenheit in the Derwent river as part of the Dark Mofo arts festival in Tasmania. Further south in the Antarctic, researchers stationed at Australia's Davis station marked midwinter's day by taking a chainsaw to the ice, cutting a small pool and taking a dip in water with a temperature of 28.76 Fahrenheit.
Revelers watch the sunrise as they celebrate the pagan festival of Summer Solstice at Stonehenge in Southern England. The festival, which dates back thousands of years, celebrates the longest day of the year when the sun is at its maximum elevation. Modern druids and people gather at the landmark Stonehenge every year to see the sun rise on the first morning of summer.
Revelers touch a stone and chant in the stone circle as they celebrate the pagan festival of Summer Solstice at Stonehenge in Southern England.
A singer leads hundreds of fellow revelers in song while waiting for the sun to set during the summer solstice festival at Stonehenge in Southern England.
A reveler walks between the stones while waiting for the sun to set during the summer solstice festival at Stonehenge in Southern England.
People take part in the 15th annual Times Square yoga event celebrating the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, in New York.
People take part in the 15th annual Times Square yoga event celebrating the Summer Solstice in New York. The event marked the international day of yoga.
People take part in the 15th annual Times Square yoga event celebrating the Summer Solstice in New York. The event marked the international day of yoga.
Participants prepare before the Nude Solstice Swim, as part of the Dark Mofo winter festival, in Tasmania, Australia. The Dark MOFO celebrates the darkness of the Southern Hemisphere Winter solstice on 21 June.
An expeditioner stationed at Australia's Davis Station takes the plunge to celebrate the winter solstice. The winters solstice is the shortest day year and the celebrations to mark the start of longer days date back over 100 years of explorers past. The Davis Station is the most southerly Australian Antarctic station and is situated 2250 nautical miles south-south-west of Perth, Australia.
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