The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1918-12-31
BENEATH M|sTLET0E.
Kissing Custom So Old No One
Knows When 1t Started.
Branehee With Greatest Number OF
Berries Favored, as Kiss Must
Be Given for Each Berry
l. Plueked. ,

/ 6STTiSS EdSoISoy 40 Noo "ess
Be Given for Each Berry
l. Plueked.
According to Scandinavian mythol
ogy, Loki, the god Of evil, was tn
sworn enemy of Baldur, the, god O.
light, and tried by every means II
his power to kill him, but failed be
cause he was invulnerable TO every
thing that came from the earth, air
fire or water. --"G .tH ~
Loki at last conceived the: idea thai
the mistletoe, springing frbm neither
would serve his purpose and. having
an arrow made from the who'd he
helped Hodi, the blind god Of dark.
ness, to aim it, and Baldur fell dead
shot through the heart. s$
All the gods and goddesses prayed
for his restoration to life, and when
the prayer, was granted It was de-
creed that the mistletoe should never
more have power to do, harm. unless 1t
touched the earth, and the goddess OF
love was appointed to guard 1t.
Some legends claim that the god
desss kissed all who passed. the
plant as token that 1t wag:no longer
a weapon of death, but symbol Of
love, while others assert that she ex-
tracted kiss from each as propitia-
tion. or the bough should be allowed to
work harm.
Another reason for the kissing priv
ilege conferred by the plant is said to
he that q lovely maiden preferred
death to the kisses Of an amQrous old
monk who pursued her, thd her
prayers for deliverance were answer.
ed by Transforming her into "a mistle'
toe branch and placing her In b rea,
KIss For Each Berry,
The custom Of 'hssing beneath the
is SO old that no one knows
when It originated; but when young
people are found selecting the branches
that have the berries on, It ID fair to
that they know a. kiss must
be given for each berry plucked and
that the ceremony is never complete
until every berry is off the branch.
There was once common, though
mistaken, belief that the mistletoe grew
on oak trees only, but that was go far
from m-true that the Druids, who held
the oak as absolutely sacred because
they believed it to represent the One
Supreme God, deemed the mistletoe
iioubly sacred If found on one, and
guarded it until the sixth day
after the first new moon Of each
year. '. ~ -.
When this times arrived, priests
robed In spotless white, surrounded
the tree and held solemn ceremonies,
among which was the sacrifice OF two
white bulls. ~ g. o.. =.
After the ceremonies a priest robed
|n spotless white assembled the tree,
and With a golden knife cut ths mis-
tletoe and let It fall onto "a white
cloth held by other priests.
The branches were then formally
blessed and divided among the people,
who believed the sprays given them
to have miraculous power. IL.
Called aAIl.Hesl" Plant.
The common belief in the efficacy
Of the plant was such that 1t was call.
ed "all-heal;" but according to an old
legend, certain lover searched many
days for specimen growing on an
oak tree, that he might SECURE its
branches for the cure Of his betrothed,
who was sick unto death, but when
he found 1t he touched the sap, while
cutting the branches, and fell dead
near the tree, indicating that the sap
was deadly poison.
Another legend accounts for the
fact that the plant Is a parasite by the
story that the mistletoes' originally
grew as q tree, and that the cross on
which Christ was crucifed was made
from mistletoe wood, after which 1t
was. .accursed and condemned to never
more grow AS tree but to exist as
q parasite, killing every living thing
to which 1t became attached.
Tie plant thrives in America from
New Jersey southwark and westward,
ana those who know it only as part
of Christmas decorations can have
little idea Of how it overruns trees to
the extent Of being a nuisance.