Among the Insular Celts, the year was divided into a light half and a dark half. As the day was seen as beginning at sunset, so the year was seen as beginning with the arrival of the darkness, at Calan Gaeaf / Samhain (around 1 November in the modern calendar). The light half of the year started at Calan Haf/Bealtaine (around 1 May, modern calendar). This observance of festivals beginning the evening before the festival day is still seen in the celebrations and folkloric practices among the Gaels, such as the traditions of "Oíche Shamhna" (Samhain Eve) among the Irish and "Oidhche Shamhna" among the Scots.