WQ - Superstitious

How fun that we get to hunt up quotes about superstitions during the days when black cats and trick or treating are all around us. It did make me wonder a little about superstitions and how they develop, and about how they're related to Halloween. I turned to my old homeschool blog for some history about Halloween to get started. I've never been a big fan of Halloween, personally, but I do think a lot of decorations are fun and creative, and the costumes are creative. As long as it's not gory or evil!

Superstitions are, for the most part, but the shadows of great truths. ~Tryon Edwards

Halloween gets a lot of mixed reviews, ranging from those who love it for the costume parties and themed decoration, to those who abhor it as a celebration of evil and the occult. For many folks, it's a day to dress up in costumes ranging from ridiculous to disturbing, and from cute to terrifying. Costume parties, candy, and fun! But of course we also acknowledge that the roots of our Trick or Treating are a little darker - a pagan Celtic sacrifice to appease evil spirits. It was believed that evil spirits were sent to attack humans, and the best chance of escape was to disguise yourself as a spirit, and so started the custom of dressing up. Sounds rather like superstition, doesn't it?

Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. ~Bertrand Russell

A superstition is a premature explanation that overstays its time. ~George Iles

The root of all superstition is that men observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses. ~Francis Bacon

The name Halloween that we're used to actually comes from All Hallows Eve, because medieval Christians celebrated All Hallows Day on November 1st. All Hallows or All Saints' Day was first celebrated in the spring of the year 509, but in 837, Pope Gregory III changed the date to November 1st.

November 2nd is All Souls' Day, and although it sounds like the same thing as All Saints' but with a slightly different name, it's not quite that simple. All Souls' is primarily celebrated by Roman Catholics, who dedicate the day to prayer and give alms in memory of their deceased loved ones. They may also pray for the souls of the dead, believing that this will shorten their stay in purgatory so they can transition to heaven. Those who don't believe in purgatory might argue that sounds rather like a superstition too.

When the human race has once acquired a superstition, nothing short of death is ever likely to remove it. ~Mark Twain

I've noticed that the sugar skulls of Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead have become popular for decorating and face painting. Dia de los Muertos is celebrated in parts of Mexico on November 1st and 2nd, coinciding with All Saints' and All Souls' Days. Indigenous peoples combined Christian celebrations with their ancient beliefs of honoring deceased loved ones. They use candles, flowers, food and drink, toys, and candies to decorate elaborate altars in their homes. They believe the spirits of the deceased are able to visit on those days. On the afternoon of November 2nd, they often take their celebrating to the cemeteries where they play games, enjoy music, and reminisce. Most of the Dia de los Muertos celebrations are very family-oriented and are festive rather than morbid or scary. Sugar skulls became part of these celebrations in Mexico during the 18th century.

As a Christian, I don't believe that spirits of the deceased can come visit with us, but I do like the idea of honoring the memories of our loved ones and remembering them with joy. And I definitely like that we can look forward to seeing them in heaven some day.

This originally appeared as part of the post All Hallows, All Saints, and All Kinds of Celebrations at Homeschool Coffee Break.

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature. ~Helen Keller

Superstition is foolish, childish, primitive and irrational - but how much does it cost you to knock on wood? ~Judith Viorst

I suspect that's where most of us are in terms of being superstitious! I don't really believe that it makes any difference what I wear to a hockey game, but it's also still really important to me to wear my team colors. I don't really believe that the turkey's wishbone has any power to grant my wish, but I sure wanted to have a pull at it anyway! Little things like not stepping on cracks in the sidewalk or tossing salt over your shoulder have dubious foundations but probably don't hurt anything. Walking under a ladder is probably not the safest idea, but it's become a superstition. No one wants to break a mirror, but it probably won't result in seven years of bad luck.

I had only one superstition. I made sure to touch all the bases when I hit a home run. ~Babe Ruth

Athletes have a lot of superstitions, but I think most of them are more like routines to prepare for the game!

I'm not superstitious, but I'm a little stitious. ~Steve Carell

Oh same here, Steve! Just a tiny bit stitious! 

But seriously, we don't need to be superstitious if we know the truth. We don't need to do silly rituals in order to connect with God and we don't need to have a lucky rabbit's foot to give us hope. The apostle Paul warned the church not to waste time on those meaningless things:

Don't let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations, which don't help people live a life of faith in God.

~I Timothy 1:4~

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Wednesday Quotes 2024 Themes

October 2nd - Kindness

October 16 - Harvest

October 30 - Superstitions

November 13 - Confidence

November 27 - Helping Hands

December 11 - Natural Beauty

December 25 - Traditions

Thanks to Marsha at Always Write for introducing us to the Wednesday Quotes challenge, and for passing the hosting duties along so we can continue sharing great quotes! Wednesday Quotes is co-hosted by Sadje at Keep It Alive and Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee. 

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