ones who have died. Aligned with the contemporary observance of Halloween and Day of the Dead, in some traditions the spirits of the departed are invited to attend the festivities. It is seen as a festival of darkness, which is balanced at the opposite point of the Wheel by the festival of Beltane, which is celebrated as a festival of light and fertility. Many Neopagans believe that the veil between this world and the afterlife is at its thinnest point of the year at Samhain, making it easier to communicate with those who have departed. Some authorities claim the Christian festival of All Hallows Day (All Saints Day) and the preceding evening are appropriations of Samhain by early Christian missionaries to the British Isles. Minor festivals In addition to the eight major holidays common to most modern pagans, there are a number of minor holidays during the year to commemorate various events. Germanic Some of the holidays listed in the “Runic Era Calendar” of the Ásatrú Alliance: Vali's Blot (14 February) Celebration dedicated to the god Váli and to love Feast of the Einherjar (11 November) Celebration to honor kin who died in battle Ancestors’ Blot (11 November) Celebration of one’s own ancestry or the common ancestors of a Germanic ethnicity Yggdrasil Day (22 April) Celebration of the world tree Yggdrasil, of the reality world it represents, of trees and nature Winterfinding (mid-October) Celebration which marks the beginning of winter, held on a date between Haustblot and Winternights Summerfinding (mid-April) Celebration which marks the beginning of summer, held on a date between Ostara and Walpurgis Night Practice Celebration commonly takes place outdoors in the form of a communal gathering. Dates of celebration The precise dates on which festivals are celebrated are often flexible. Dates may be on the days of the quarter and cross-quarter days proper, the nearest full moon, the nearest new moon, or the nearest weekend for secular convenience. The festivals were originally celebrated by peoples in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Consequently, the traditional times for seasonal celebrations do not agree with the seasons in the Southern Hemisphere or near the equator. Pagans in the Southern Hemisphere often advance these dates by six months to coincide with their own seasons. Offerings Offerings of food, drink, various objects, etc. have been central in ritual propitiation and veneration for millennia. Modern pagan practice strongly avoids sacrificing animals