Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-12-27
MISTLETOE KNOWN
MANY CENTURIES
WAS INCLUDED BY THE ANCIENT
DRUlDs IN THE WORSHIP
OF THEIR GODS
Scandinavian Mythology Accounts For
the Custom Of Kissing Beneath Mis-
tIetoe-Demand is Great at Christ
mas Time-How 1t Grows.

did you ever see mistletoe grow
ing?" asked we'll known Ottumwan
of several others last evening as the
party were gathered together awaiting
the arrival of the Christmas day.
We'll, l have. Not so many months
ago took a long trip through Arkan-
sas, where they grow quite little Of
the Yuletide shrub
Cone day a friend of mine and my
self were going through large grove
of pine trees and noticed a large
number of colored people seemingly
very busy among the trees. Some of
the trees seemed to be occupied by
little pickininnies.
What are they doing?' | asked my
friend.
They are cutting mistletoe,' he re-
piled, and sure enough they were. In
the parts of the south and east where
mistletoe grows, the harvest, ii it may
be so called, takes place in the latter
part OF October and the first of Novem-
Der. Mistletoe grows near the tops of
the trees. A funny thing about 1t is
that 1t grows in a wreath, selecting
one limb on the tree to grow on and
tWining right around it. Of course, it
Is parasite.
"At the harvest time in Arkansas
the colored people go out into the
pine groves and forests in droves The
little pickininnies Chamber through the
trees hunting for the branch which
bears the priced wreath. So great has
become the demand for this shrub that
the picking of the shrub from the tree
has become practical industry. The
little huntsmen in the trees, finding
the wreath, cut it away and throw it
to the watchers below. These pick up
the mistletoe, to later store it and fin
ally ship it to the northern markets.
MlstIetoe Suggestive of Christmas.
"Mistletoe the shrub SO suggestive
to all of Christmas and it's joys has
figured 'conspicuously in the history Of
the human race for many centuries
AS far back as the time Of the Druids
it was an object of special veneration,
particularly so if it grew on the sacred
oak tree. BY them it was gathered
with much ceremony and hung above
the doorWays, as an offer of shelter
during the severe winter to the forest
gods. The Germans accredited it with
mysterious magical powers, and the
Celts revered it as possessing valuable
medicinal properties. Scandinavian
mythology treats of the subject, and
from this source is supposed to have
originated the modern custom of kiss.
ing beneath suspended sprig. Ac-
cording to that legendary lore, the
mistletoe was under the protection of
the goddess of love, and all passing
under 1T received a kiss as an emblem
of love.
Cultivated for Holiday Trade.
"Mistletoe was first used in modern
England TO hang over the servants
hall, but it soon invaded the parlors
and drawing rooms. Today it is one
of the most important factors in appro-
pirate Christmas decorating, and the
demand for it is so great that special
attention is given to it's cultivation,
and large shipments of it are made
each. year during the holiday season
from it's native regions in the United
States
''The mistletoe is of parasitic origin,
and is usually found upon such decidu-
Gus trees as the apple, linden, locust,
maple, thorn, and occasionally the oak.
The European species is of the ma
tural order, and the variety SO common
on the American market is only rel
alive There is very little difference,
however, In habit and appearance. 1t
is found in the United States from
New Jersey to Indiana and south to
the gulf, and also on the Pacific coast.
Valuable For Decorating.
"The chief value Of mistletoe lies in