The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1918-11-28
BENEATH M|sTLETOE
Kissing Custom So Old No One
Knows When It Started.
Branches With Greatest Number Of
Berries Favored, as Kiss Must
Be Given for Each Berry
PIucked. Il


According to Scandinavian mythol-.
ogy, Lokl, the god of evil, was the
sworn enemy of Baldur, the god OF
light. and tried by every means in
his power to kill him, but failed be-
cause he was inyulnerable to every
thing that came from the earth, air,
fire or water.
I,oki at last conceived the idea that
the mistletoe, springing from neither.
would serve his purpose and, having
an arrow made from the wood he
helped HodI, the blind god of dark
ness. TO aim IT, and Baldur fell dead
shot through the heart.
All the gods and goddesses prayed
for his restoration to life, and when
.hc prayer was granted 1t was de-
creed that the mistletoe should never
more have power to do harm unless Ii
touched the earth, and the goddess OF
love was appointed to guard 1T.
Some legends claim that the god
dess kissed all who passed under the
plant as token that it was no longer
a weapon of death, but symbol Of
love, while others assert that she ex-
lracted kiss from each as propitia-
ton, or the bough should be allowed to
work harm. .
Another reason for the kissing priv.
llege conferred by the plant is said to
Re that lovely maiden preferred
death to the kisses Of an amorous old
monk who pursued her, and her
prayers for deliverance were answer
ed by transforming her into mistle-
! toe branch and placing her In tree.
Kiss For Each Berry.
! The custom of kissing beneath tho
mlstletoe" is SO old that no one knows
when 1t originated. but when young
people are found selecting the branches
| that have the berries on, 1t Is fair to
suppose that they know 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 so far
I from true that the Druids, who held
: the oak as absolutely sacred because
they believed it to represent the One
Supreme God. deemed the mistletoe
1oubly sacred If found on one, and
/ carefully guarded it until the sixth day
after the first new moon of each
year.
| When this time arrived, priests
rObed in spotless white, surrounded
the tree and held solemn ceremonies.
among which was the sacrifice of two
white bulls.
After the ceremonies a priest robed
n spotless white assembled the tree,
and with a golden knife cut the mis-
tletOe and let it fall onto a white
10th held by other priests.
The branches were then formally
, blessed and divided among the people,
who believed the sprays given them
20 have miraculous power.
Called "AII-Hea" Plant.
The common belief in the efficacy
IF the plant was such that it was call
I'd "all-heal;" but according to an old
legend, certain lover searched many
Jays for a specimen growing on an
/ cak tree. that he might secure It's
ranches for the cure of his betrothed,
who was sick unto death, but when
ne found it 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 parasite by the
story that the mistletoe, originally
grew as a tree, and that the cross on
which Christ was cruclfied was made
from mistletoe' wood, after which It
was accursed and condemned to never
more grow as q tree but to exist as
4 parasite, killing every living thing
10 which it became attached. Hs ~
The plant thrives in America from
New Jersey southwark and westward.
ana those who know 1t only as q part
of Christmas decorations can have
little idea of how it overruns trees to
the extent Of being a nuisance.