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Show 2)ruiJi Jiril to lim UWa9U of WutLto. The greens which are used for Christmas decorations found their way into early festivities because of certain virtues attributed to them by the ancients, and many of them which adorned pagan seasonal rites were later taken over to grace the ceremonies and celebrations Of Christmas Day. In both England and America, the holly and the mistletoe are associated as-sociated with Christmas as Invariably Invari-ably as are the plum pudding and Christmas tree. It was the Druids who first used the mistletoe. "Heal-all" was their name for it. The plant was supposed to have curative values, and gradually grad-ually they assigned to it all manner man-ner of magic powers. Their priests, each year around the time when we now celebrate Christmas, would have high platforms plat-forms built around the sacred oak trees which, in a manner of speaking, speak-ing, were "hosts" to the mistletoe. mistle-toe. Robed in ceremonial vestments of white, they ascended these platforms, plat-forms, and with golden sickles especially espe-cially made for the solemn occasion they cut away the mistletoe. The Saxons also prized it and it was they who gave to it the name of mistletoe. Eventually the green came to be regarded as a symbol of peace. Opposing warriors who met near it would call a truce, and it was customary to hang it over the entrance en-trance doors so that they who entered en-tered might be assured of friend I ship. il |