Donal Hickey: Does winter start on November 1 or in December? 

The Halloween/Samhain tradition marked the end of the farming year, with all the harvest in and animals housed for the harsh season ahead. Crops to feed animals and people were stored away safely — and it was a time to celebrate

'Snap apple night' — Halloween is regarded by many as the last day of autumn with November, December and January considered the winter months

When does winter begin? There’s disagreement as to which three months make up the season, but certainty about one thing — our winters are getting warmer and wetter in line with climate change.

Halloween, rooted in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, marks a turning point of the year, a change from light into darkness when, according to age-old traditions, the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest.