31/10/2026
Halloween in Wales used to have another name.
It was Nos Galan Gaeaf, the night before the first day of winter. A spirit night, when people believed spirits were about, and communities lit bonfires to mark the turn of the year. When the fire burned low, everyone ran home before the hwch ddu gwta, the tailless black sow, could catch whoever was last.
I love that. Long before pumpkins and plastic skeletons, our own ancestors were marking this time of year in their own way.
It's the same with clearing your home. People call it saging, but people across these islands have always reached for the plants growing on their doorstep. In Scotland it was called saining. I don't use white sage or palo santo, because they've been badly over-harvested and smudging is a sacred practice of Indigenous peoples in North America. I use mugwort, rosemary, lavender and the sage from my garden instead.
If you'd like to try it tonight, keep it simple. Open a window, light the end of a bundle of dried herbs and let it smoulder rather than flame. Walk slowly through each room and think about what you're ready to leave behind with the old season, and what you'd like to welcome in for winter. Use a heatproof dish, never leave it burning, and keep it away from children and pets.
There's a saining stick of mugwort, lavender, rosemary and thyme waiting in one of the boxes in this year's advent calendar. I'm not telling you which day 🌿
Fewer than half are left, and last orders are Saturday 14 November. £150 plus £11 postage, or two payments. UK only. Link in bio
Happy Nos Galan Gaeaf 🔥
