The Ramapo Saltbox in Torne Valley marked the the Winter Solstice at sundown on Sunday.

The shortest day of the year has arrived which means a long night.

While many Britons celebrated the warmest Winter Solstice on record at England’s famed Stonehenge at Tuesday’s sunrise, the Ramapo Saltbox in Torne Valley hosted a gathering of its own Sunday at sundown to mark the occasion.

Chuck Stead at the Saltbox Solstice Tree with Torne Mountain in the background.

The solstice is a time of seasonal turning that includes the ancient Yule time celebrations and girding for the dark days of winter cold.

As the Sunday sun faded behind the far hills, Howard Horowitz read a word map poem that detailed the history of western Ramapo.

And then Ramapo College environmental educator Chuck Stead tossed full sprigs of sage from the Saltbox Medecine Garden into the iron kettle fire and turned on the lights to the solstice tree, a construction that included lamps and lights topped by deer antlers.

The Saltbox Solstice Tree ceremonially lighted up against the coming long nights of winter.

Stead, who re-constructed the Saltbox as an environmental and educational center with help from many area students, explained to those gathered how Ramapough elders talked about how Torne Valley under the face of Torne Mountain was considered a special place of healing.

The area around the Saltbox is currently undergoing a cleanup from Ford Co. paint sludge once dumped in thelowland sandy soil.

When the Torne Valley clean up work is finished, Stead said, the sands down near where Torne Brook runs through the valley will be marked by a stone circle in honor of the those that once used the valley for their own ceremonies.