The Benson signal., 1917-12-29

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mistletoe in order that any standing
beneath it might be kissed by the
first person who caught her there.
Few if any growing things are the
subject Of as many ancient legends,
customs and beliefs as the mistletoe.
The fact that the ancient Celts in their
druidical religion had two great festi-
walls, one in June and the other in De-
cember, the latter being equivalent to
our Christmas. In both of these great
festivals the gathering of the mistle-
toe was a sacred rite.
Pliny in his Natural History de-
scribes the ceremony. Speaking of
the Druids' worship of the oak, he
says: 'They believe that whatever
grows on these trees is sent from
heaven and is 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 by the sixth day the
moon has plenty of vigor and has not
run half it's course.
after the preparations have been
made for a sacrifice and feast under
the tree they hail it as the universal
healer and bring to the spot two white
bulls whose horns have never been
bound before. A priest, clad in a
white robe, climbs the tree and with
| cf 01y oie,%Io
which is caught in white cloth. Then
they sacrifice the victims, praying that
God may make his own gift to prosper
with those upon whom he has
bestowed it.
.'They believe that a potion pre-
pared from mistletoe will increase
their flocks and that the plant is a
remedy against all poison"
1t was believed to be a remedy for
many ills and this belief is still to be
found in many remote places in Eu-
rope. In HOlstein, for example, the
mistletoe is regarded as healing rem
edy for wounds and in Lacaune,
France, it is always administered by
the native people as an antidote for
poison. They apply the plant to the
stomach of the patient and give him
solution of it to drink as well. The
Gaelic word for mistletOe is IAN t'nil
ioc," which means "all healer" and
this is probably what the Druids
/ called it in ancient times.
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 hec-
tic fevers and other troubles. In
some parts of Germany the mistletoe
is especially esteemed as 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 it to be possessed Of
many mystic qualities, and that if q
sprig of it is attached to the ceiling Of
the dwelling house, the horses stall
| or cows crib, the trolls" or evil spirits
will then be powerless to injure either
man or beast. Branches of the plant
| are commonly seen Ill 1dILuuOuScS
hanging from the ceiling to protect
the dwellings from all harm, but es-
pecially from fire, and persons atflict-
ed with the falling sickness think they
can ward off all attacks of the malady
by carrying about with them knife
which has handle of mistletoe.
A Swedish remedy for other COM
plants is to hang sprig of mistletoe
round the sufferers neck or to make
him wear on his finger a ring made
from the plant. Moreover they fash
ion divining rods of mistletoe or Of
four different kinds Of wood, one Of
which must be miStletOe. The treas
ure seeker places the rod on the
ground after sundown and when it
rests directly over the treasure the
rod begins to move as if it were alive.
Like their Swedish neighbors, many
German peasants consider the mistle-
toe powerful charm against evil spir-
it's.
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