Veneration of the dead begging for candy). In Cornwall and Wales, the autumn ancestor festivals occur around Nov. 1. In Cornwall the festival is known as "Kalan Gwav", and in Wales as "Calan Gaeaf." The festivals bear some similarities to the better-known Gaelic festival of Samhain, from which modern Halloween is derived. During "Samhain", November 1 in Ireland and Scotland, the dead are thought to return to the world of the living, and offerings of food and light are left for them. On the festival day, ancient people would extinguish the hearth fires in their homes, participate in a community bonfire festival, and then
Samhain dates from a time when the Celts were mainly a pastoral people, dependent on their herds. Some Neolithic passage tombs in Ireland are aligned with the sunrise around the times of Samhain and Imbolc. These include the Mound of the Hostages ("Dumha na nGiall") at the Hill of Tara, and Cairn L at Slieve na Calliagh. In medieval Ireland the festival marked the end of the season for trade and warfare and was a time for tribal gatherings. These gatherings are a popular setting for early Irish tales. Irish mythology was originally a spoken tradition, but much of it was