[…]IN Wales the custom of fires persisted from the time of the Druid festival-days longer than in any other place. First sacrifices were burned, the creatures merely passed through the fire; and with the rise of Christianity fire was thought to be a protection against the evil power of the same gods.
Pontypridd, in South Wales, was the Druid religious center of Wales. It is still marked by a stone circle and an altar on a hill. In after years it was believed that the stones were people changed to that form by the power of a witch.
In North Wales the November Eve fire, which each family built in the most prominent place near the house, was called Coel Coeth. Into the dying fire each member of the family threw a white stone marked so that he could recognize it again. Circling about the fire hand-in-hand they said their prayers and went to bed. In the morning each searched for his stone, and if he could not find it, he believed that he would die within the next twelve months. This is still credited. There is now the custom also of watching the fires till the last spark dies, and instantly rushing down the hill, “the devil (or the cutty black sow) take the hindmost.” A Cardiganshire proverb says:[…]
Halloween Customs of Wales — Renegade Tribune
Vermont Folk Troth 