STONEHENGE, England - Thousands of modern-day druids, pagans and partygoers converged on Stonehenge early Thursday to cheer the dawn of the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere - the summer solstice.
Clad in antlers, black cloaks and oak leaves, a group gathered at the Heel stone - a twisted, pockmarked pillar at the edge of the prehistoric monument - to welcome the rising sun as revelers danced and yelled.
Jeanette Montesano, a 23-year-old recently graduated religion student from New York and a self-described pagan, said she had been saving for a year to make it to Stonehenge, comparing the importance of the trip to the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
"It's not the hajj, but it is 19,000 people in a little circle. I wanted to experience something like that."
An estimated 20,000 people gathered at the stone circle in Wiltshire, in southwestern England. Dancers writhed to the sound of drums and whistles as floodlights colored the ancient pillars shades of pink and purple, and couples snuggled under plastic sheets.
Solstice celebrations were a highlight of the pre-Christian calendar. People in many countries still celebrate with bonfires, maypole dances and courtship rituals.
In more recent years, New Age groups and others have turned to Stonehenge to celebrate the solstice, and the World Heritage Site has become a magnet for those seeking a spiritual experience - or just wanting to have a good time.
But the celebrations also can attract their share of troublemakers. Police closed the site in 1984 after repeated clashes with revelers. English Heritage, the monument's caretaker, began allowing full access to the site again in 2000.
Police were deployed early Thursday to keep the hedonists from getting out of hand, and to prevent revelers from climbing the stones.
Solstice celebrations also take place in other countries, although most are deferred until the last weekend in June. Swedes will gather to sip spiced schnapps, Danes will light bonfires, and Balts and Finns will flock to the countryside to dance, sing and make merry under the midnight sun.
Stonehenge, on the Salisbury Plain 80 miles southwest of London, was built between 3,000 B.C. and 1,600 B.C., although its purpose remains a mystery. Some experts say its builders aligned the stones with the sun as part of their sun-worshipping culture.
It is one of 20 monuments competing to be named one of the new seven wonders of the world in a massive online poll.
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Associated Press writers Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, Louise Nordstrom in Stockholm, Sweden, Gary Peach in Riga, Latvia, and Matti Huuhtanen in Helsinki, Finland contributed to this report.
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On the Net:
Stonehenge: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.876
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