What is Calan Gaeaf?
Calan Gaeaf, celebrated on November 1st, marks the beginning of winter in Wales, much like the Celtic festival of Samhain. It’s a time to honour the harvest, acknowledge the shortening days and colder nights, and reflect on the cycles of life and death. As the old year ends, Calan Gaeaf was thought to be a moment when the veil between the world of the living and the dead was at its thinnest. This led to the belief that spirits could walk among us—much like the more well-known traditions of Mexico’s Day of the Dead.