MYTHS AND THE MISTLETOE. 
On Christmas Eve the bells were rung; 
On Christmas Eve the chant was sung; 
That only night in all the year 
Saw the stoled priest the chalice near; 
The damsel donned her kirtle sheen; 
The hall was dressed with Holly green; 
Forth to the woods did merry men go 
To gather in the Mistletoe. 
THE Mistletoe, particularly that 
which grows on the Oak, was 
held in great veneration by 
the Britons. At the beginning of 
their year the Druids went in solemn 
procession into the forests, and raised 
a grass altar at the foot of the finest 
Oak, on which they inscribed the 
names of those gods which were con- 
sidered the most powerful. After this 
the chief Druid, clad in a white gar- 
ment, ascended the tree and cropped 
the Mistletoe with a consecrated 
golden pruning-hook, the other Druids 
receiving it in a pure, white cloth, 
which they held beneath the tree. The 
Mistletoe was then dipped in the water 
by the principal Druid and distributed 
among the people as a preservative 
against witchcraft and disease. If any 
part touched the ground it was consid- 
ered an omen of some dreadful mis- 
fortune. 
In the Eddas of mythological Norse 
lore, Loke, the evil spirit, is said to 
have made the arrow with which he 
wounded Balder (Apollo), the son of 
Friga (Venus), of a branch Of Mistle- 
toe. Balder was charmed against every- 
thing which sprang from fire, earth, air, 
and water, but the Mistletoe, springing 
from neither of these, was fatal, and 
Balder was not restored to the world 
till by a general effort of the other 
gods. In some parts of Germany and 
Switzerland it is believed that by hold- 
ing in the hand a branch of Mistletoe 
one will be enabled not only to see, but 
to converse with departed spirits. 
The Druids, partly because the Mis- 
tletoe was supposed to grow only on 
the Apple tree and the Oak, and also 
on account of the usefulness of the 
fruit, paid great attention to its cultiva- 
tion. Many old rites and ceremonies, 
in connection with the Apple, are prac- 
ticed to this day in some parts of Eng- 
land. On Christmas Eve the farmers 
and their men take a huge bowl of 
cider, with a smoking piece of toasted 
bread in it and, carrying it to the 
orchard, salute the Apple trees with 
great ceremony, in order to make them 
bear well next season. 
The wassail bowl drank on Christ- 
mas Eve, and on other church festivals, 
was compounded of old ale, sugar, nut- 
megs, and roasted apples, of which 
each person partook, taking out an 
apple with a spoon and then a deep 
draught out of the bowl. 
Under the Mistletoe of Christmas, 
the custom of kissing has been handed 
down to us by our Saxon ancestors, 
who, on the restoration of Apollo, ded- 
icated the plant -to Venus, the Goddess 
of Love and Beauty. It was placed 
entirely under her control, thus pre- 
venting its ever again being used 
against her in future ages. — E. K. M. 
212 
