The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-12-31

passed by, either with the pen or at th
table, for besides being the most de
licious of all pies, the mince pie is emln
emily historical. Its compounds have
peculiar significance, since they are in
tended to represent the sweet myrrh an
spices, and ether precious gifts whic
the magi of the East offered the infan
Savior. Likewise the mince pie shoul!
always be made oblong in shape, as j
formerly was, for this peculiar form i
intended to represent the manger whicl
Graded the HOLY Babe.
There is an old legend which ma.
serve as savoring to the crust, whicl
says, that in as many houses as you ca
mince.p pie during the Christmas-tide, 81
many months of good luck will you hav
during the year.
In all the merry-makings of Christina
in the olden time, the wassail was com
pound of ale, nutmeg, sugar, toast ant
roasted apples. Every family had it
wassail- bowl, and some of these wer'
very elegant, being of massive silver
The term a0assail is said to have origi
mated from the salutation of Rowena, 1
fair maiden who lived in the fifth cen
tury, and who presented the British
king, Vortigen, on Christmas morning
with a bowl of his favorite beverag.
with these words:
Loved king, wass he'll.
The wassail-bowl was carried from
house to house on Christmas, it's bearers
singing carols as they went, and expect
ing to receive gifts whenever they
paused.
The Anglo Saxons, who drank such
huge beakers of liquor in honor of Odin,
or Thor, continued to drink the same
quantities at their various festivals in
honor of Christ, the Virgin Mary, the
apostles and all the saints. Wine, ale,
mead, pigment-a liquor made of honey
and the Juice of mulleins-and cider
were the favorite beverages.
In Spain it is customary for grateful
patients to send the gift of turkey to
the family physician at Christmas, this
royal fowl being considered there, as
well as in our own country, the fttest
bird to grace the festive board. A
medical man in large practice might
find himself suddenly confronted with
an army of gobblers upon Christmas
morning.
From the very earliest times we may
trace the use of evergreens and flowers
at great festivals and religious cere-
monies-they being universally regarded
as typical of rejoicing.
When Christ entered Jerusalem green
boughs were strewn before him, and
from that day TO this Christians have
adopted flowers as the symbols of their
delight at the E,edeemer's coming.
The sacred mistletoe bough which
belongs peculiarly to Christians, ap-
pears to have been well known to the
ancient Greeks and Romans, and to have
been regarded by them with great rev.
erence. The mistletoe is supposed to
have been the sacred branch to which
Virgil refers in his description of his
descent into the Internal regions. The
Druids and the Celtic nations attributed
many valuable medicinal qualities to the
mistletoe, calling it allheal. In Wales
it was known as guidhel. The Druids
collected the mistletoe with great cere-
mony at the approach of every New
Year, and from this custom originated
the present one of gathering green
Christmas boughs.
The mistletoe was cut by a golden
sickle by the chief priests of the Druids,
and laid upon a white cloth. The
priests who assisted at the ceremony
were clad in white robes, and the &C.
lemnity with which the mistletoe was
thus gathered caused tho people to re-
gard it with the most superstitious rev.
erence and awe. Many centuries after
the mistletoe was believed to possess
great healing properties, and we are
gravely informed in an old book upon
the cart of Simpling," printed in 1868,
that eff any one hang mistletoe about
the neck, the witches can have no
power over him." The witches have,
fortunately for themselves, and for man
kind in general, taken their final depar-
ture; but the mistletoe is still hung up
in many houses at Christmas time, sus-
pended from the ceiling, or over the
doorway, and under it the young men,
and often the old, claim the privilege of
O kiss from the fairer sex.
In Sicily and Germany the mistletoe
is set up in the parlor for the Christmas
tree, and is laden with gifts.