The Leader, enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1915-1921, 1918-12-23
Meath h|s1LETOE
So Old No One
u t Started.
snches With Greatest Number Of
Series Favored. as Kiss Must
Sc Given for Each Berry
5PIucked.

ding Ito Scandinavian mythol-
god Of evil. was the
QS Baldue. the god Of
d By every means in
ser t I'm him, but failed be
8sause ne W .nvulnerable to every-
lung that came from the earth, air,
ffre or water.
Loki at last conceived the idea that
une 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
lor his restoration to life, and when
inc prayer was granted it was de-
creed that the mistfetoe should never
more have power to do harm unless it
touched the earth, and the goddess OF
l>'oye was Appointed to guard it.
y 1ese0ds claim that the god
led all who passed under the
] token that it was no longer
SOf death, but a symbol of
u others assert that she ex-
h Kiss from each as a propitia-
e bOugh should be allowed to
Nr reason for the kissing priv.
} inferred by the plant is said to
"a q lovely maiden preferred
20 the kisses of an amOrOus old
IN who pursued her, and her
rs for deliverance were answer
J Transforming her into a mistle-
ranch and placing her in a tree.
Kiss For Each Berry.
The custom of kissing beneath the
listletoe" is so old that no one knows
H hen it originated; but when young
fople are found selecting the branches
at have the berries on, it is fair to
oppose that they know a kiss must
Se given for each berry plucked and
that the ceremony is never complete
eeyery berry soff the branch.
pc was oncesa common, though
saken, belief that the mistletoe grew
oak trees only, but that was so far
true that the Druids, who held
ak as absolutely sacred because
Relieved it to represent the One
BE God, deemed the mistletoe
.aE sacred if found on one, and
/ Fly guarded it until the sixth day
~ krE the first new moon of each
Then this time arrived, priests
"a in spotless white, surrounded
free and held solemn ceremonies,
which was the sacrifice of two
bulls.
economies priest robed
e asecslad the tree.
gUlden knife cut the mis-
and let it fall onto a white
v "a held by other priests.
me branches were then formally
Esed and divided among the people,
believed the sprays given them
lave miraculous power.
Called "AII-HeaI" Plant.
The common belief in the efficacy
The plant was such that it was call
'all-heal;;" but according to an old
end, certain lover searched many
Is for a specimen growing on an
< tree, that he might secure its
ranches for the cure of his betrothed,
VII was sick unto death, but when
eA nd it he touched the sap, while
J. Itth the branches, and fell dead
/ ear the tree, indicating that the sap
as a deadly poison.
Another legend accounts for the
fact that the plant is a parasite by the
story that the mistletoe, originally
grew as tree, and that the cross on
witch Christ was crucified was made
nam mistletoe wood, after which it
was accused and condemned to never
0reg grow as a tree but to exist as
zepafasite, killing every living thing
which it became attached.
The plant thrives in America from
lew Jersey southwark and westward,
knu those who know it only as a part
4 Christmas decorations can have
ktle idea Of how it overruns trees to
!the extent of being nuisance.