The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1917-12-14
Hou The MstLetoe
Came to Mean
Kissing

We decorate our homes with sprays
of mistletoe at Christmas time, but
few Of US know the history Of it as a
Yuletide symbol. Pretty girls are
kissed under it and great deal Of fun
and nonsense are carried on apropos OF
it, but no one stops to think Of how
ancient decoration it is or how sacred
it was once thought to be. 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 sacred rite.
The Druids believed that a potion
prepared from mistletoe would in
crease their f1ocks and that the plant
was q remedy against all poison. It
was believed to be q curative for many
Ills, and this belief is still to be found
in many remote places in Europe. In
Lacaune, France, for example, 1t Is
always administered by the native
dwellers as an antidote for poison.
In the northeast Of Scotland people
used to cut withes Of mistletoe at the
March full moon; these they bent In
circles and kept for year to cure
hectic fevers and other troubles. In
Sweden on midsummer eve mistletoe
is diligently sought after, the people
believing it to be possessed Of many
mystic qualities, and that If a sprlg
Of it Is attached to the ceiling Of the
dwelling house, the horses stall or the
cows crib, the trolls will then be pow
erless to injure either man or beast.
Many German peasants also consider
the mistletoe powerful charm against
evil spirits. A similar belief seems to
have fingered among the Romans.
When Aeneas descended into Hades
he gathered; to protect himself from
the Internal powers, branch Of mis-
tletoe, which vergil calls the golden
bough.
The custom Of kissing nnder the mis- ;
tletoe goes back to the days when
Thor and Odin and all fhe other gods
Of the Northland walked and talked :
with men. Baldur, the son Of Odin
and Frigga, the Apollo Of Scandina-
Wan mythology, the fa1en-haired god
of sunshine and It's attendant blessse-
ings, was loved by all earthly an6i
heavenly beings save one-Loki, the
god Of earthly fire and Its attendant
evils.
How Of all the things animate and
inanimate in the world, except the
surly mistletoe, swore never to harm
the sun god and how Loh slew Baldur
with q branch Of It, has been told with
beautiful poetic power by Matthew
Arnold.
In conciliation, hoping to soothe the
passionate sorrow Of the mother, Frig-
ga, they dedicated the mistletoe to her.
And now sin and sorrow had hallowed
1t; for henceforth it was to grow, not
as a symbol Of bitterness and hatred,
but as sign Of tenderness and love.
But the gods decreed that it was to
stand for these things only so long as
1t touched not Loki's kingdom, the soil;
and for this reason 1t Is never seen
growing on the ground and we our.
selves always hang 1t high on the raft
ers or chandeliers. And now that II
was the plant of love, the custom arose
for enemies to become friends under
the mistletoe; for lovers to pledge
their troth beneath it; and for those
who met there to kiss as a sign Of af.
fectionate fellowship.