Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1911-12-13

consider that you were perpetuatlng
one of the most hallowed and exalted
OF religious ordinances handed down
h through the ages in rendering such
tender homage to this orphan plant
1 of wondrous birth?'
And would it not surprise you to
learn that our very word marry,
and that our most impassioned OF the
|. graces OF Terpsichore-the waltz
are traditionally enmeshed in the can.
ny tendrils of the pearly-berried mis-
tletoe?
The mistletoe Is freak plant. a
I parasite or excrescence. In it's en-
4 bryonic period 1t is said to defy the
4 laws Of gravitation by pushing its
radicles in the opposite direction to
the generality of plants. Not only it's
berries but its leaves grow in clusters
OF three united on one stock, hence
Its sacred place in religious rites as
symbol Gof the Holy Trinity.
It was believed by the Druids and
other ancient sects in northern and
4 western Europe that any tree to
which the mistletoe attaches itself is
selected by God himself for special
favor, and that all that grows on 1t Is
sent direct from heaven.
Contrary to the general belief, it Is
found more rarely on the oak tree
than on the apple, ash, elm. poplar,
willow and hawthorn. and it is due to
this scarcity that.it was vested with
exceptional reverence when discovered
clinging to the sacred tree Of the
Druids-a name derived from the
Greek word drus. or druce. meaning
IN oak
Says Pliny: when it (mistletoe
growing upon an oak) is discovered 1t
rs treated with great ceremony. They
called it by name (guthil, or gutheyl
good heal), which in their language
signifies the curer of all ills" After
they have well and duly prepared
their festival cheer under the tree.
they bring hither milk-white COW
and a bullock, hitherto unyoked; then
the priests in white vesture climb into
the tree and prune OF the sacred herb
with a gold hook, bill or sickle. the
branches falling beneath into white
sagum sheet. They must never touch
the ground. The common people re-
main at distance, formed in circle.
while the priests approach with trem-
bling awe the bloody victims, which
were carried around the omen fire.
After this the animals are slaughtered
as sacrifce-doubtless to the god
dess Of fecundity, for the mistletoe is
symbol Of the prolific.
In the myths of all nations we find
"holy tree" world tree" Among
the Druids, as well as among other
creeds. this tree was the oak; and 1t
It a very interesting thing to know
that our word church-from kirk
finds its root in quervus, the generic
name for the oak. This tree was
cherished as the mother and nurse OF
man, and was supposed to be- the
dwelling place of the food-dispensing
god The ominous rustling Of the
leaves and the mysterious notes Of
the feathered songsters signalized the
presence of the divinity to the awe
struck votaries who consulted the in
dwelling oracle. burning odoriferous
fumes in homage. The Dodonean
oak and its oracle are celebrated In
epic. myth and story, its mystic ritual
being zealously perpetuated by the
Druids. They danced circular dances
in consecrated groves, and the rem
nants of an old chant still preserved
by the Celts-Hey Derry Down Dey,
Sin a circle the oak moves around
reveals the archtype Of our modern
waltz.