Samhain is a pagan holiday that marked the beginning of winter but also celebrated the migration of the dead to the next world.
The pre-Christian, Celtic cultures throughout Europe, Ireland, and England understood the period around November 1 as not just a time to bring in the harvest, slaughter the livestock, and prepare for winter, but also to honor the dead—and most especially to ritually assist the souls who had died over the course of the year to move on to another world. With bonfires and sacrifices, feasting and divination, the Celts mingled with their recent dead but also understood the seasonal transition to open up space for the more ancient dead, as well as other manner of demons and spirits.
