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 eventually written down in the Middle Ages by Christian monks, who Christianized it to some extent. Nevertheless, these tales may shed some light on what Samhain meant and how it was marked in ancient Ireland. Irish mythology tells us that Samhain was one of the four seasonal festivals of the year, and the 10th-century tale "Tochmarc Emire" ('The Wooing of Emer') lists Samhain as the first of these four "quarter days". The tales say it was marked by great gatherings where they held meetings, feasted, drank alcohol, and held contests. According to Irish mythology, Samhain (like Bealtaine) was a time