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22 December 2011
Last updated at
11:32
In pictures: Stonehenge marks winter solstice
More than 1,000 people gathered at Stonehenge on Thursday morning to mark the winter solstice.
During the winter solstice, the sun is closer to the horizon at midday than at any other time in the year.
This year and last year, the druid and pagan community marked the first day of winter at a dawn ceremony on 22 December.
The winter solstice was marked on 22 December because the modern calendar of 365 days a year - with an extra day every four years - does not correspond exactly to the solar year of 365.2422 days.
Arch druid Rollo Maughfling said it was a "good omen for the year ahead" that the sun had come up after the ceremony.
"It has been a very jolly occasion," Mr Maughfling added.
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