THE REASON FOR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 23 December 1922, Page 10

THE REASON FOR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

To those of us who wonder why there should be Christmas decorations, and not Easter or Whitsun ones, the following reason may be helpful. “English houses,” says an old writer, “were decked with evergreens at Christmas so that the sylvan spirits might repair to them, and remain there minipped with frost and cold winds, until a milder season had renewed the foliage of their abodes.” As to mistletoe, this was", on account of its pagan associations, barred from churches, with the curious exception of York Minster. Here on the eve of Christinas mistletoe was carried to the high altar, and an amnesty granted to all local offenders. Old belief has it that mistletoe is an excellent cure for epilepsy and a I lother convulsive disorders. The apple mistletoe was good for ordinary fits. An old writer defends this belief on the ground that the Almighty must have designed the beautiful mistletoe “for nobler purposes than to feed thrushes or to be hung superstitiousiy in bouses to drive away evil spirits.”

Another mistletoe belief is that it was the forbidden tree of the Garden of Eden. Mistletoe kissing is of very ancient origin, and it seems that in olden times with each kiss the young man had to pluck a berry off the suspended branch. As long as the berries lasted, so might the kisses continue ! Finally, you may use holly, bay, rosemary, ivy for your decorations, lin'd might risk laurel. But if yew or cypress is introduced, beware! “Plucke it out righte quickly,” says an old writer, “or yon shall be grievouso sicke.”