It's Samhain

Samhain marks the last of the harvest festivals. It was one of the four great "fire festivals" which marked the turning points of the Celtic year. Great bonfires would light the sky during the celebrations. It’s the night best suited for calling upon the spirits, seeing fairies or encountering a ghost. Sunset on Samhain is the beginning of the Celtic New Year. The old year has passed, the harvest has been gathered, cattle and sheep have been brought in from the fields, and the leaves have fallen from the trees. The earth slowly begins to die around us. The Crone Goddess is alone and the God has journeyed down to the Underworld. Prepare for the Dark time of the Year. We now honor our ancestors, and if a loved one has died during the past year, this is the night to celebrate their memory. Time to communicate with spirits from beyond the veil, who offer advice, protection and guidance for the upcoming year.

Eliade's Encyclopedia of Religion states: "The Eve and day of Samhain were characterized as a time when the barriers between the human and supernatural worlds were broken... Not a festival honoring any particular Celtic deity, Samhain acknowledged the entire spectrum of nonhuman forces that roamed the earth during that period." The Celts believed that when people died, they went to a land of eternal youth and happiness called Tir nan Og. The dead were sometimes believed to be dwelling with the Fairy Folk, who lived in the numerous mounds, or sidhe, (pronounced "shee") that dotted the Irish and Scottish countryside. Spirits and Fairies roam the lands creating mischief. This night belongs to neither, one year nor the other, Celtic folk believed that chaos reigned, and the people would engage in practical jokes. This was the time to "cull" the herds of animals that weren’t needed for breeding next spring, and were used as sacrifice for Harvest Feasts, or winter food supplies.