November Gathing

As we move now towards shorter days, November is the month of holding back the dark, with celebrations centring around light, sparks and fire such as Guy Fawkes Night and Samhain in the old Celtic tradition, which is beginning to make a return in some circles.  Samhain is a Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or "darker half" of the year. Celebrations begin on the evening of 31 October, since the Celtic day began and ended at sunset and is about halfway between the autumnal equinox and winter solstice.