Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1917-12-22

4 - al5k-s
nistletoe in order that any standing
beneath 1t light be kissed ny 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 Cets 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 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
1t 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 its course.
After the preparations have been
made for d sacrifice and n feast under
the tree they hail 1t as the universal
healer and bring To the spot two white
buns whose horns have never been
bound before. A priest. clad in a
white robe, climbs the tree and with
a golden sickle cuts the mistletoe.
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 Il.
They believe that a potion pre-
pared from mlstletoe will increase
their fiocks aad that the plant is a
remedy against all poison
1t was believed 10 be a remedy for
many ills and this belief is still to be
found in many remote places Ia Eu-
rope In Holstein. for example. the
mistletoe is regarded as a healing rem
edy for wounds and In Lacaune,
France. il IS always administered by
ti%e native people as an antidote for
poison. They apply the plant to the
stomach IF the patient and give him
q solution Of it to drink as we'll The
Gaelic word for mIstletoe is IAN t'nll
loc." 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 az the
March fun moon; these they bent in
circles and kept for year to cure hec-
tic fevers and other troubles In
some parts Of Germany the miStiefOe
Is especially esteemed as d remedy for
the ailments Of children, who some
times wear il hung around the neck
as an amulet.
In Sweden on midsummer eve mis-
.letoe is diligently sought sfrcs. the
people believing II to be possessed OF
many mystic qualities, and that II
sprig Of it is attached 10 the ceiling OF
the dwelling house. the horses stall
or cows crib. the trolls or evil spirits
viii then be- powerless TO injure either
man or beast Branches OF the plant
are commonly seen Ia farmhouses
hanging from the ceiling To- protect
the dwellings, from all haru. but es-
peciany from fire. and persons afllct-
ed With the falling sickness think they
can ward of all attacks ~ The malady
by carrying about with theIn knife
which has q handle os mistletoe.
a swedish remedy FOR other com
plants IS % hang sprlg Of mistletoe
round the sufferers neck Or 10 make
hIul wear on his aaeer a ring made
from the plant Moreover they fash
Ion dIylAsre rods If mlstletoe or Of
four G.Terent s5uds Of wood. one Of
ahlch must be mlsletoe. The treas
cre seeker places the rod On the
ground after slnd9&n and when IL
rests directly over tn treasure the
rod begins to move as If st were alive.
Like their Swedish ue shoors many
German peasants consider the mlstle-
toe a powerful charm against evil spir-
its.