What are Druids and what do they do at Stonehenge on the summer solstice?

LOCKDOWN has meant most events for the year are unable to go ahead as planned, with the summer solstice now taking place virtually.

Druids celebrate the big day and see it as a spiritual movement but what does it mean to be a modern-day druid?

What are druids?

Once upon a time, "druid" referred to a high-ranking professional in Celtic culture, often priests and healers.

Today, Druidry is a spiritual or religious movement which is all about revering and syncing with the natural world.

Druids put environmental protection at the forefront of their spiritual beliefs, and often hark back to the days of the original Celtic druids.

Although modern druids have no real links to the ancient druid priests, the new druid movement was born out of a respect and reverence for these early druids.

In Irish folklore, druids are often described as serving kings and lords as counsellors, and are often blessed with magical powers like being able to see the future or control the weather.

Today, druids are a diverse bunch, with different groves (groups of druids) emphasising different principles.

However, many share a hippy love of nature, respect for rituals and ceremonies and a belief in a range of gods and goddesses.

Some claim it's a purely spiritual movement, some claim Druidry is a religion, while others reckon it's a combination of the two.

What do druids do at Stonehenge on the summer solstice?

Every year, hundreds of druids rock up to Stonehenge to mark the summer solstice.

The West Country landmark is a magnet for hippy types at the best of times, and the standing stones become even more of a druid beacon at the solstice.

However, in the gathering in 2020 has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic and the imposed lockdown restriction, which prevents large gatherings.

Druids celebrate eight festivals throughout the year, including four solar festivals - both solstices and both equinoxes.

Different groves will celebrate with different rituals but, in general, the solstice represents the time of death and rebirth, when the sun abandons the earth and the darkest day occurs.

One ritual involves bringing scraps of material to represent the things that have been holding you back, and casting it to the ground.

Other ancient traditions will be revived, and druids may also recite prayers and share food and drink.

Is the solstice on the same day every year?

The solstice always falls between the 20th and 22nd June each year.

Most years, it falls on the 21st in the UK, but sometimes it lands a little bit off-kilter, because it takes the Earth 365 and a quarter days to go around the sun.

This extra quarter day is why we add a day to the calendar every four years with a leap year - to stop the dates drifting gradually through the seasons.

For the same reason, solstices and equinoxes are not always on the same day every year.