--_Brand._
Why is laurel used with other evergreens to deck houses at Christmas?
Because of its use among the ancient Romans, as the emblem of peace,
joy, and victory. In the Christian sense, it may be applied to the
victory gained over the powers of darkness by the coming of
Christ.--_Bourne._
Why is the mistletoe so called?
Because its seeds are said to be dropped by the mistle-thrush, which
feeds on its berries.
Why was the mistletoe held sacred by the Druids?
Because they had an extraordinary reverence for the number _three_,
and not only the berries, but the leaves of the mistletoe, grow in
clusters of three united on one stalk. Its growing upon the oak, their
sacred tree, was doubtless another cause of its veneration.
We read of a celebrated oak at Norwood near London, which bore
mistletoe, "which some people cut for the gain of selling it to the
apothecaries of London, leaving a branch of it to sprout out; but they
proved unfortunate after it, for one of them fell lame, and others lost
an eye. At length, in the year 1678, a certain man, notwithstanding he
was warned against it, upon the account of what the others had suffered,
adventured to cut the tree down, and he soon after broke his
leg."--_Camden_.
Mr. Brand, however, thinks that mistletoe was never put up in churches
but by mistake or ignorance of the sextons: it being a heathenish and
profane plant, and therefore assigned to the kitchen.
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