We are not so different from our ancient superstitious ancestors. One night each year, when the Druids thought the dead roamed the earth, they dressed up in costumes to try to confuse the real dead into thinking they were one of them. They called the celebration Samhain; today we call it "All Hallows Eve" or the shortened form, "Halloween." The Celts and their priests, the Druids, felt the day ended at sunset, so that is why this is celebrated after dark on the 31st of the month on our modern calendar but is actually the start of November for them. Whether you see it as a religious celebration or a secular one, it is still a dark, superstitious celebration of demons, ghouls and trickery.

In the western world we still have the same customs of bringing greenery into the house, lighting cheery fires in the dead of winter, singing carols and gift giving around the time of the winter solstice. This was a celebration of the newborn solstice god in Nordic tradition and these superstitious practices were said to have helped with that rebirth from year to year. The Norse called it Yule, the Romans called it Saturnalia and today we call it Christmas.

Our ancestors gathered eggs into baskets left by bunnies because the goddess, Ishtar, a goddess associated with spring and the dawn, and who was the wife of Tammuz, was a bringer of light and fertility. This superstitious fertility celebration occurred around the time of the spring equinox and eggs and rabbits or hares are considered symbols of fertility around the world. We call it Easter and say it is about the risen Son and not the rising sun that the ancients celebrate, yet keep the same symbols and customs.

Through the centuries different peoples came in contact with how others celebrated these times and adapted their customs into their own celebrations. We are not so different. We have adapted all of the customs from all the different lands in one form or another and added our own twist and names to them. We celebrate with the same fervor and abandon as our ancestors that we look on as ignorant superstitious peasants, but of course we are doing it for a different reason. Right?

We have convinced ourselves either that there is no God or that we can choose to worship Him as we please as long as we call it by another name. Has our worship of God become more superstition than a practice of honoring the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

A deep dive will show how each little superstitious custom came from which civilization and how none of them are mentioned in the Holy Bible except when they are warned against. We have a free study aid that can help you understand the background of these holidays: “Holidays or Holy Days: Does it Matter Which Days We Observe?” In answer to this question, yes—it matters very much to the Eternal God.

The same ones who look down on those of us who believe in the one true God as supporting superstition, continue in these same superstitious celebrations that have led people away from God for thousands of years. The irony seems to be lost on them. Many of our youth are now turning to things the Pilgrims and early settlers of our nation seeking religious freedom knew were of the occult and to be shunned.

It can be confusing to some that many of the legends of a mother and child and of a savior coming in the spring date back to ancient times.  We have to realize that our adversary the Devil knows scripture and has known about God’s plan from the beginning of the creation of mankind. He inspired counterfeits long before the promised Savior arrived. These counterfeits lead us away from the truth and are an affront to the Savior of all mankind. The real Savior came not to bring back fertility and spring, as the counterfeit proposes, but to open up the way to eternal life! It is no wonder that God labeled these celebrations as abominations.

There are consequences for adopting these pagan customs and passing them down to our children. “With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them. They have dealt treacherously with the Lord, for they have begotten pagan children. Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage” (Hosea 5:6-7).

God is very clear in how He wants to be worshipped. The good news is that you can know how to worship God in spirit and in truth. If you are ready to leave behind all the superstitious worship from the past, we have a free study aid that explains all of it in detail called "God’s Holy Day Plan."

You cannot come before the Almighty Omnipotent Creator with things created in the minds of superstitious, ignorant and unschooled people who thought their celebrations to their gods appeased those gods. We are not ignorant and unschooled for the most part and know where these celebrations came from and why they did them. We probably have more knowledge about the past origins of these celebrations than we do about how God wants to be worshipped.

Our nation and our world need to turn to God with our whole heart, not leaning to our own interpretation of how He wants to be worshipped. God’s master plan shows that day will come and with it peace and prosperity for all of mankind.