| SAMHAIN | Ancient Celtic festival in November which celebrated the start of winter and a new year (7) |
| GARLAND | Judy ___, actress who played Dorothy in the 1939 film of The Wizard Of Oz , which celebrated the 81st anniversary of its release this week (7) |
| SNAKE | The Chinese community recently celebrated the start of the Year of the ___. (5) |
| STEPHEN | With 24-Across: one of the three "Strangers With Candy" alums who will be reuniting at the New York Comedy Festival in November (the other two are at 16-Down and 26-Down) |
| SWERVE | Start game around start of winter and go off course? (6) |
| COMMA | Order stopped short of November, which gives us pause |
| BEANO | The _, comic which celebrated the 70th anniversary of character Minnie the Minx in 2023 (5) |
| HEATRISES | Why upstairs is warmer in winter, and a hint to the placement of the pepper varieties in this puzzle |
| FLIESSOUTH | Migrates for the winter, and a hint to the shift in the starred answers |
| THECHIMES | (GKN) Second of Charles Dickens' five Christmas books, subtitled A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year In (3.6) |
| ANNUNCIATIONDAY | Old Year's beginning in caution and a New Year starts festively (12,3) |
| WRITHE | Squirm at their distress after the start of winter (6) |
| INTER | Bury after the start of winter (5) |
| YAWL | Sailing-boat to lay up around the start of winter (4) |
| BELTANE | Ancient Celtic festival celebrated on May 1, marked by the lighting of purifying bonfires (7) |
| HANDSEL | A gift as a token of luck, often at the beginning of a new year (7) |
| PICASSO | Which celebrated Spanish painter had a 'Blue Period' from 1901 to 1904? (7) |
| SPENSER | Poet who celebrated the Tudor dynasty - or a Boston private eye (7) |
| SWOONER | Start of Winter comes in earlier, but fainter (7) |
| WAXWING | Bird growing around start of winter (7) |
