The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1914-12-24
M|STLETOE HISTORY
Gathering Of Plant Sacred Rite
in DruidicaI Religious
Festivals.
Also Considered a Potent Remedy fer
lIls, a Belief Which stll Exists in
Some Of the Remote Places
Of Europe.

] II ~ III
teWW mas time. but few OF Us
NAN know The history Of II as
NJ Yuletide symbol Pretty
- girls are kissed under it and
a great deal Of fun and nonsense is
carried on apTopos Of IL. but no one
stops 70 think Of how ancient a dec
CITATION il Is or how sacred il was
once thought 10 be
Almost everybody has a vague
knowledge that the Druids Of old had
something to DO with the gathering Of
mistletoe. but Just what that some
thing was is not clear 10 the average
mind
The fac, is that the ancient Celts in
their druidieal religion had two great
festivals. one In June and the other in
December. the latter being equivalent
to our Christmas. In both OF these
great festivals the gathering Of the
mistletoe was a sacred rite.
Fliny In his Natural History" de-
scribes the ceremony. Speaking of the
D-uids' worship Of the oak he says.
They believe that whatever grows on
these trees is sent from heaven and Is
/ a sign that the tree has been chosen
l BY the god himself The mistletoe Is
very rarely 10 be met with. but when
IL is found they gather il with solemn
ceremony This they do especially on
the sixth day Of the moon, because BY
the sixth day the moon has plenty Of
yigor and has not run half its course.
AFTER the preparations have been
made for a sacrifice and feast under
the tree they hail II as the universal
healer and bring 10 the spot two white
bulls whose horns have never been
bound before A priest clad In white
robe climbs the tree and with a golden
sickle cuts the mistletoe. which is
caught In a white cloth. Then they
sacrifice the victims. praying that God
may make his own gin 10 prosper
with those upon whom he has be.
slowed H.
They believe that a potion pre-
pared from mistletoe viii increase
their nocks and that the plant Is q
remedy against all poison"
1t was believed TO be a remedy fol
many ills, and this belief is still TO bs
found in many remote places in Eu
rope. In Holstein, for example. the
mistletoe is regarded as a healing
remedy for wounds. and in Lacaune
France, il is always administered by
the native people as an anudote FOL
poison.
In the northeast % Scotland people
used to cut withes Of mistletOe az tbs
March full moon; these they bent Il
circles and kept for year 20 cure hec
tic fevers and other troubles In SONS
parts Of Germany the mistletoe is es
pecially esteemed as a remedy for tht
ailments OF children. who sometimes
wear il hung around the neck as al
amulet
In Sweden on Midsummer eve mis-
tletoe IS diligently sought after. th'
people believing Il TO be possessed o
many mystic qualities. and that II I
sprig OF il is attached 20 the ceilinl
Of the dwelling house. the horses stat
or the COWS crib the trolls will thei
be poweIless 10 iniure either man o
beast Branches OF the plant are CON
monty seen in farm houses hanging
from the ceiling 20 protect the dwell
ings from all harm. but especially fron
FIRE. and persons afflicted with the fall
ing sickness think they can ward o.
al attacks OF the nelz3y By carrying
about with them a knife which has
handle Of mistleioe
Like their Swedish neighbors. man
German peasants consider the mistls
toe q powerful sharm against evil spil
is. A similar belief seems 70 hay
fingered among the Romans. whose n
igiOn al a very early Gate was SONS
what similar 10 that Of the Druid
; When Aeneas descended into Hadss b
gathered 10 protect himself from u
internal powers a branch OF mistleto'
] which Yergil calls the goldea bongh,