The Washington times., 1904-12-25
Rush of Twentieth Century
Too Much for Customs.
ORIGIN OF MANY USAGES
Druids Slaughtered Human Victims
and Cattle Under Oaks Bearing
the Parasite.

hurry of the twentieth century forbids
twelve days OF merry making, or even
Two Paterfamilias considers himself
very indulgent if he gives two nights
and day to the annual festival. since,
forsooth the office needs him!
One by one the quaint old customs
have vanished We will have the Christ
mas tree, evergreens in our houses and
churches and the yawning stocking yet
waits for good St. Nicholas.
Way to the Furnace.
But what is poor Santa Claus to do.
when the chimney leads to the furnace?
And what of the city apartment, which
boasts a radiator and a gas CRATE, but
no chimney? The myth must be ad-
justed to fit the times in which we live.
and, doubtless, we shall soon see pic
lures of Santa Claus arriving in an auto
mobile and taking the elevator to the
ninth floor. Flat B, where q single
childish stocking is hung upon the
gilded radiator
Nearly all of tie Christmas observ-
ances began in ancient Rome. Tie
primitive Italians were wont to cele-
brate the winter solstice and call 1t the
feast of Saturn. Thus ''Saturnalia' came
to mean almost any kind of high jinks.
and in the wake of conquest the heather
ceremonies were engrafted upon Sax
ton custor1s and assumed a religious
significance.
Origin of the Mistletoe.
The pretty maid who hesitates and
bushes beneath the overhanging branch
of mistletoe never stops to think of the
grim festival with which the Druids
celebrated its gathering. In their re-
ligion the plant was regarded with the
utmost reverence and awe, especially
when found growing upon an oak, the
favorite tree Of their god, Tutanes.
at the time of the winter solstice,
the ancient Britons, accompanied by
their priests, the Druids, went out with
great pernp and rejoicing to gather the
mistletoc, which was believed to pos
sess great curative powers. These pro-
cesSions were usually by night to the
accompaniment of 1aring torches and
the solemn chant of the church.
When an oak was reached on which
mistletoe grew the company paused.
Two white bulls were bound to the
tree. and the chief Druid. clothed in
white to signify purity, climbed, more
or less gracefully, one must believe, to
the m1Stletoe 1t was severed from the
oak with golden knife, and another
priest. standing below, caught it in the
folds of his robe The bulls were then
sacrificed, and often, alas, human vic
Tins also The mistletoe thus gathered
was divided into small portions and dis
trlDuted among the people. The tiny
sprays were fastened above the doors of
the houses, as propitiation to the sylvan
deities during the season of cold
Story of Mistletoe.
These rites were retained throughout
the Roman occupation of Great Britain.
and for some time afterward. under the
sovereignty of the Jutes Saxons. and
Angles.
In the Scandinavian mythology there
Is an interesting story about the rnistie-
toe Balder. the god Of poetry, the son
or odin and Friga, one day told his
mother that he had dreamed his death
was near at hand. Much alarmed. the
mother invoked all the powers OF nature
earth. air, fire, water animals. and
plants-and obtained from them an oath
that they would do her son no hurt.
Then Balder fearlessly took his place
In the conbats of the gods and fought
unharmed, while showers of arrows
We're falling all about him. His enemy
Lodke. determined to discover the secret
OF his invulnerabiIity and, dise1,istng
himself as an old woman went to Friea
and complimented her upon the valor
of her son.
Friga answered that she had made a
Charm. and invoked all nature TO keen
from injuriTlg her SON. Indeed" said
the old woman, and did you invoke all
the animals and plants? There are SO
many, 1t seems impossible
'AIl but one answered Friga. proud
ly. "ali out a little insignificant plant
which grows upon the bark OF the oak.
1t is impossible that so small a thing
should dc harm"
Much delighted. Loake went AWAY
and gathered m1stIetoe. Then he enter
ed the assembly of the gods and made
his way to the blind Heda why do
you not fight with the arrows of Bal
der2" asked Loake. Alas" replied
Heda- I am blind and l have no arms. -
Loake then gave him an arrow tipped
with mistIetoe and said, "BaIder is be-
fore thee" Heda shot and Balder fell
pierced through the heart
In its natural state the plant is be-
lieyed to be propagated by the mfstle-
thrush. which feeds upon It's berries
but, under favorable climatic conditions
one may raise ones own mistIetoe
When the berries are bruised on the
bark of fruit trees they take root read
lily. 1t very seldom grows on the oak
nowadays, but IN western England II
grows freely in almost every orchard
Kissing under the mistIetoe was also
q custom of the Druids, and In those
unciviIized days men kissed each other
For each kiss single white berry was
plucked from the spray and kept as a
souvenir by the one who was kissed.
Burning of the Yule Log.
The burning OF the Yule log was al
ancient Christmas ceremony borrowe,
from our Scandinavian ancestors. A
their feast of JUL. at the time of tn
winter solstiee, they were wont to kin
die huge bonfres in honor of their go,
Thor The custom soon made its wa,
TO England, where 1t IS still in vogu
IN various parts of the country.
One may imagine an ancient feuda
castle, heavily fortified, standing Il
splendid isolation upon a snowy hill, OF
that night of all others when war wa
forgotten and peace proclaimed Draw
hx- gty he Yr,i9 iou