Since ancient times, cultures have been honoring the shortest day of the year. It’s hard to tell when winter solstice celebrations first began, but some ancient monoliths oriented towards the winter solstice sun, like Newgrange in Ireland, suggest that some cultures may have observed winter solstice as far back as the Stone Age. As the North pole reaches its maximum tilt away from the sun, here are some of the Northern hemisphere’s winter solstice celebrations that predate Christmas.
