“Many of the autumn season’s customs are historically related. Today’s Thanksgiving Day holiday is one such date. Although there was no government-mandated Thanksgiving Day holiday in Newfoundland at Confederation in 1949, many local groups celebrated it as part of the fall season of Hallowe’en. It took the form of Harvest celebrations, a little like the garden parties of high summer. The whole season of Halloween is of interest to folklorists. In this province, a half-dozen Halloween-related customs have been reported and described, with dozens of names.

Over four hundred names for customs have been identified in Newfoundland and Labrador. Many of these are local terms in different places for the same or similar customs: the four hundred names represent about 150 different customs.
Some calendar customs are shared by people throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. Old Christmas Day, Candlemas Day, Pancake Night, Mid-Summer’s Day, Orangemen’s Day, All Soul’s Day and Christmas Day are all known widely and to some extent share their local activities and beliefs throughout the province.
Other dates are known or celebrated only in certain local areas; some customs are celebrated in entirely local ways. Coombses’ Day (February 3rd) is known only in the Upper Island Cove area of Conception Bay. It commemorates a day almost two centuries ago when several members of the Coombs family died tragically in a snow storm.” – heritage.nf.ca

*courtesy Neil Young, Harvest