Thousands greet the sun at Stonehenge solstice celebration

Thousands flocked to Stonehenge on Saturday to greet sunrise at the ancient British monument on the northern hemisphere's shortest day of the year. Spectators cheered and applauded as the sun rose over the neolithic site in southwest England at the winter solstice, a pagan celebration that is believed to have been observed there for thousands of years.

It is one of the few days of the year when visitors are allowed to touch the stones, which are situated on the alignment of the midsummer sunrise and the midwinter sunset The Neolithic circle of giant stones has been a source of wonder and mystery for almost 5,000 years -- in the Middle Ages, the wizard Merlin of Arthurian legend was said to have stolen the monument from Ireland.