The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1914-01-03
TRADITIONS OF THE MISTLETOE.
Druids Believed It Sacred to the Gods
and People Use a. Health Gtvcr.

sAQ feopSo Use a. he0lt0 G1vof.
We decorate our homes with sprays
OF mistletoe at Christmas time, but
few Of US know the history OF 1t as
Yuletide symbol. Pretty girls are
kissed under 1t and a great deal OF
fun and nonsense Is carried on apropos
OF 1t, but no one stops to think of how
ancient decoration it is or how
sacred 1t was once thought to be.
Almost everybody has q vague
knowledge that the Druids of old had
something to do with the gathering Of
misletoe, but just what that some
thing was is not clear to the average
mind.
The fact Is that the ancient Celts in
their druidical 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 g sacred rite.
Pliny in his Natural History de.
scribes the ceremony. Speaking CT the
Druid's 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
by the god himself. The mistletoe is
very rarely to be met with. but when
it is found they gather it with solemn
ceremony. This they do. especially on
the sixth day of the moon, because
the sixth day the moon has plenty of
vigor and has not run half its course,
After the preparations have been
made for a sacrifice and q feast under
the tree they hail 1t az the universal
healer and bring to the spot two white
bulls whose horns have never been
bound before. A priest clad in q white
robe climbs the tree and with a golden
sickle cuts the mistletoe. which 70
caught in a white cloth. They then
sacrifice the victims. praying that God
may make his own gift to DroOpoS
with those upon whom He hao he.
slowed it.
They believe that q potion prepared
focks and that the plant is q remedy
against all poison" f.-
| It was believed to be q remedy for
many ills, and this belief is still to bs
found in many remote places In Du.
rope. In Holstein. for example. the
mistletoe is regarded as q healing
remedy for wounds and in Lacaune.
France. 1t is always administered by
the native people as an antidote Tor
poison. They apply the plant to the
stomach OF the patient and give him
solution Of it to drink as wSll. The
Gaelic word for mistletoe 10 ''an t'nil
ioc," which means all healer. and this
10 probably what the Druids called Il
in ancient times -.,
In the northeast Of Scotland people
used to cut withes of mistletoe at the
March fun moon: these they bent In
circles and kept for q year to euro
hectic fevers and other troublea In
some parts OF Germany the mistletos
is especially esteemed as a remedy for
the ailments OF children. who some.
times wear it hung around the neck
as an amulet. .,.
In Sweden on midsummer eve mis-
tletoe is diligently sought after, the
people believing 1t to be possessed OF
many mystic qualities, and that il q
sprig OF it is attached to the ceiling OF
the dwelling house, the horses stall or
the cows crib. the trolls will then be
powerless to injure either man or
beast. Branches Of the plant are cam-
monty seen in farmhouses hanging
from the ceiling to protect the dwell
ings from all harm. but especially from
tire, and persons afflicted with tho
falling sickness think they can ward
of all attacks of the malady by car
rying about with them a knife which
has handle Of mistletoe.
A Swedish remedy for other COM
plants Is to hang a sprig OF mistletoe
round the sufferers neck or to mako
him wear on his finger a ring made
from the plant. Moreover they fashion
divining rode Of mistletoe or Of four
different kinds Of wood, one Of which
must be mistletoe. The treasure-sesk.
er places the rod on ths ground after
sundown and when It rests directly
over the treasure the rod bes1ns to
move as II it were alive
Like their Swedish neighbors, many
German peasants consider the mistle-
toe a powerful charm against evil
spirits. A similar belief seems to
have fingered among the Romans.