The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-12-25

with the 1uletlde eel
ebration, and truly the deep green
leaves and scarlet berries of the holly,
combined with the sedate but more sig
nificant mistletoe. add zest to the en-
joyment of the day. The Christmas
plum pudding itself appears bereft of
its best friend if it repose on the fes-
tai board minus decorative garland of
holly. Centuries of use and centuries
of tradition have given the holly and
the mistletoe the prominence which, in
the eyes of those who know what an
old fashioned Christmas means, they
richly deserve.
Authorities are agreed that the use
of both as a Christmas decoration is of
great antiquity. In the case of the
holly it is affirmed that is probably
the continuation of a custom which
prevailed among the Romans of pre-
Christian years, the old Latins holding
the holly in such high esteem that it
was woven into wreaths at weddings
as a symbol of good will toward the
newly married pair. The ancient leu
tons also made a significant use of the
holly and the chances are that it was
from them that the Christian idea of
decorating the house with holly at
Christmastide originated They hung
up in their dwelling places branches of
GNtISIGCLlSs cllOilS WHICH the molly pre-
dominated, as places of shelter for the
fairies during the cold winter months.
The superstition in certain districts
that it is unlucky to bring holly into
the house before Christmas eve is pos
sibly a survival of this pretty pagan
fancy.
All manner of superstitions, in truth,
cluster about both holly and mistletoe.
For instance. in the counties of Worces-
tershire and Hertfordshire, in England,
sprigs of the holly which have been
used in the decoration of the parish
church are carried home by the head
of each household and carefully pre-
served in the belief that they will bring
good luck during the ensuing year.
Another superstition is connected with
an interesting popularity of the Euro
pean holly, the fact that whenever the
shrub attains the dignity of a tree the
lower leaves alone exhibit sharp points,
the upper leaves being Smooth and
unarmed," as the poet Southey has put
it. The simple people of the country
side call the smooth variety 'she holly"
and the spiny form ''he holly and aver
that great care must be taken to see
that the latter predominates in the
Christmas decorations, else the head of
the household will assuredly be its
mistress, not its master.
The use of the mistletoe is commonly
accredited to a Druidical custom, but
antiquarians believe that, so far as the
practice of kissing under the mistle-
toe" is concerned, we must look fur
Their back, so far back, indeed as the
days of the ancient Babylonians, when
man who was lucky enough to catch
a maiden under the mystic bough was
entitled not only to kiss her, but to
make her his wife In this connection
it may be said that there are very few
who hang the mistletoe nowadays in
the manner prescribed by ancient US
age. Two hoops twined with ever
greens should be suspended, interlaced,
from the center of the ceiling or chan
delier, while the mistletoe amid clus-
ter of small rosy apples hangs IN the
middle of the hoops. And It ought not