Witches Festival

The Witches Festival, also referred to as the Witches' Festival, is a holiday that occurs on the 30th of Narbeleth annually.
It was believed to be a time when the barrier between the living and the dead was thin, and those who had passed on cold be sensed by those still alive. Tradition had it that before the winds of winter began to blow, that a straw effigy would be erected in the center of the town, village or city. At sunset on the night of the ceremony, it would be lit on fire. It was an awesome sight—a giant flaming wicker man, burning bright against the encroaching night. Anyone who wished could approach the fiery effigy, toss a branch into the cracking flames, and in so doing metaphorically “burn away” anything he did not wish to carry into the quiet, deep reflection time provided by winter's enforced inactivity, such as emotions (fears, sorrows, old loves, new hates). It was a peasant ritual, sprung up from time immemorial.