The ancient German gods, myths, festivals, customs, legends, and magic, as well as the old heroic sagas, are largely unknown to many today. Although many of the regionally diverse festivals and cultural customs, especially in agriculture, have blended with Christian traditions, their origins remain obscure. Often, the movable Christian festivals, when mixed with ancient pagan rites, obscure the original pagan celebration, or similar or identical customs occur at different times in various regions. Other traditions have only been preserved in fragments and in specific areas, while they have disappeared elsewhere or perhaps never existed at all. This is particularly true for the gods, heroes, giants, dwarfs, Norns, Valkyries, spirits, demons, and other helpful spirits.