Thousands greet the winter solstice at the ancient Stonehenge monument

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of tourists, pagans, druids and people simply yearning for the promise of spring marked the dawn of the shortest day of the year at the ancient Stonehenge monument on Saturday.

Revelers cheered and beat drums as the sun rose at 8:09 a.m. (0809 GMT) over the giant standing stones on the winter solstice — the shortest day and the longest night in the Northern Hemisphere. No one could see the sun through the low winter cloud, but that did not deter a flurry of drumming, chanting and singing as dawn broke.

There will be less than eight hours of daylight in England on Saturday — but after that, the days get longer until the summer solstice in June.

The solstices are the only occasions when visitors can go right up to the stones at Stonehenge, and thousands are willing to rise before dawn to soak up the atmosphere.

The stone circle, whose giant pillars each took 1,000 people to move, was erected starting about 5,000 years ago by a sun-worshiping Neolithic culture. Its full purpose is still debated: Was it a temple, a solar calculator, a cemetery, or some combination of all three?

In a paper published in the journal Archaeology International, researchers from University College London and Aberystwyth University said the site on Salisbury Plain, about 128 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of London, may have had political as well as spiritual significance.

That follows from the recent discovery that one of Stonehenge’s stones — the unique stone lying flat at the center of the monument, dubbed the “altar stone” — originated in Scotland, hundreds of miles north of the site. Some of the other stones were brought from the Preseli Hills in southwest Wales, nearly 240 kilometers (150 miles) to the west,

Lead author Mike Parker Pearson from UCL’s Institute of Archaeology said the geographical diversity suggests Stonehenge may have served as a “monument of unification for the peoples of Britain, celebrating their eternal links with their ancestors and the cosmos.”

A person holds up a smart phone as they wait for sunrise during the winter Solstice celebrations at Stonehenge, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Anthony Upton)

Arthur Pendragon poses for a portrait as he takes part in the winter solstice celebrations at Stonehenge, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Anthony Upton)

A person's face is daubed with blue paint as they take part in the winter Solstice celebrations at Stonehenge, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Anthony Upton)

A person's face is daubed with blue paint as they take part in the winter Solstice celebrations at Stonehenge, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Anthony Upton)

People take part in the winter Solstice celebrations at Stonehenge, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Anthony Upton)

People tale part in the winter Solstice celebrations at Stonehenge, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Anthony Upton)

People take part in the winter solstice celebrations during sunrise at Glastonbury Tor in Somerset, England, Saturday Dec. 21, 2024. (James Manning/PA via AP)

People take part in the winter solstice celebrations during sunrise at Glastonbury Tor in Somerset, England, Saturday Dec. 21, 2024. (James Manning/PA via AP)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Cedric Coward hit two late 3-pointers and scored 21 points to help the Memphis Grizzlies hold off the Brooklyn Nets 103-98 on Sunday.

Jock Landale added 16 points and nine rebounds, and Santi Aldama had 15 points and eight rebounds. Cam Spencer had 12 points and 12 assists in the Grizzlies' last game before their two-game series against Orlando in Berlin and London.

Noah Clowney and Tyrese Martin led the Nets with 17 points each, and Danny Wolf and Jalen Wilson scored 11 points each. Wolf also had 10 rebounds. Martin was 6 of 8, going 5 of 7 from 3-point range.

Brooklyn led 98-90 after Clowney split a pair of free throws with three minutes left. Memphis scored the final 13 points, with Coward's second late 3 giving the Grizzlies a 101-98 lead with just less than a minute to go.

Memphis, which squandered a 21-point second-half lead Friday night in a loss to Oklahoma City, watched the Nets opened the second half with a 17-6 rally to pull even at 67.

Michael Porter Jr., who had 18 points and six assists in Friday's 121-105 loss to the Clippers, sat for the game due to rest. The Nets are playing 17 games this month, and Sunday was the first night of a road back-to-back.

Memphis led by 16 in the first half and had a 61-50 advantage at the break.

Brooklyn only had five free throws in the half, compared to 14 for Memphis — a point Nets coach Jordi Fernandez made clear to the officiating crew several times.

Nets: At Dallas on Monday night.

Grizzlies: Play Orlando on Thursday night in Berlin and Sunday in London.

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Brooklyn Nets forward Jalen Wilson (22) passes over Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. and guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (3) in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Brooklyn Nets forward Jalen Wilson, right, shoots against Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Memphis Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama (7) defends Brooklyn Nets guard Terance Mann (14) in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (8) handles the ball against Brooklyn Nets guards Nolan Traore (88) and Cam Thomas, right, in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. shoots over Brooklyn Nets forward Noah Clowney in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)