Look, I am a sort of anti-ritual guy. It annoys friends who don't get 'birthday cards' and it annoys people who want me to celebrate 'Xmas'. One thing I ask, though, is that if you are going to do rituals (and ask me to join in) then please be precise. Don't have your birthday party on 'the nearest Saturday'; don't start nagging me about Xmas in October, etc.

When I grew up in the UK I was told that November 5th and the bonfires were a drift/shift from the pagan Halloween date. Same bonfire, co-opted for political/religious reasons.

OK, but it wasn't the pagans who brought Halloween back in the UK, it was the capitalists (unless they're the same?) giving us the USA's 'Trick or Treat'. 'We' also had Mother's Day already in place, but 'they' gave us Father's Day and Granny's Day and you name it (buy a card for a couple of quid).

So, although I am not a pagan, I will point out (from my past astrological study) that if you must do rituals then at least get them right (empower them):

"Halloween's origin is ancient and astronomical. Since the fifth century BC, Halloween has been celebrated as a cross-quarter day, a day halfway between an equinox (equal day / equal night) and a solstice (minimum day / maximum night in the northern hemisphere). With our modern calendar, however, the real cross-quarter day will occur next week. Another cross-quarter day is Groundhog's Day. Halloween's modern celebration retains historic roots in dressing to scare away the spirits of the dead."