Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1918-12-25
BENEATH MISTLETOE
Kissing Custom So Old No One
Knows When 1t Started.
Branches With Greatest Number of
Berries Favored, as Kiss Must
Be Given for Each Berry
PIucked.

According to Scandinavian mythol-
ogy, Loki, 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 invulnerable to every
thing that came from the earth, air,
fire or water.
Loii at last conceived the idea that
the misiletoe, springing from neither
would serve his purpose and,, having
an arrow made from the wood he
helped HoGi, the blind god of dark
ness, to aim it, and Baldur fell dead
shot through the heart.
All the gods and goddesses prayed
Tor his restoration to life, and when
The pgayf was, granted it was de-
creed that The mistletoe should never
more have power TO do harm unless It
touched the earth, and the goddess OF
love was appointed to guard it.
Some legends claim that the god
dess kissed all who passed under the
plant as a token that 1t was no longer
a weapon of death, but symbol OF
love, while others assert that she OK
iracted kiss from each as propitia-
ton, 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 4 lovely maiden preferred
death to the kisses of an amorcns Old
monk who pursued, her, and her
prayers for deIiverance were answer
ed by transforming her into q mistle.
toe branch and placing her in tree.
Kiss For Each Berry.
The custom of kissing beneath the
mistletoe" 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 is fair to
suppose that they know a kiss must
be given for each berry plueked and
that the ceremony is never complete
until every berry is off the branch.
There was once a commons, though
mistaken, belief that the mistletoe grew
on oak trees only, but that was so far
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
dOubly 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 priest robed
in spotless white assembled the tree,
and with golden knife cut the mis-
tletoe and let it fall onto a White
cloth held by other priests.
The brapches were then formally
Blessed and divided among the people,
who believed the sprays given them
to have miraculous power.
Called "AlI-Heap Plant.
The common belief in the efficacy
of the plant was such that it was cali
~ DuL aNtOAuAiAe9 w siii OiN
legend, certain lover searched many
days for a 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 it he touched the sap, while
cutting the branches, and fell dead
near the tree, indicating that the sap
was a deadly poison.
Another legend accounts for the
fact that the plant is parasite by the
story that the mistletoe. originallw
grew as tree, and that the cross on
which Christ was crucified was made.
from mistletoe wood, after which it
was accused and condemned to never
more grow as tree but to exist as
a parasite, killing every living thing
to which ii became attached.
The plant thrives in America from
New Jersey southwark and westward,
ana those who know it only as a part
of Christmas decorations can have
little idea of how it overruns trees to