. Freaks and marvels of plant life; or, Curiosities of vegetation. Plant anatomy. 438 FREAKS OF memento of the Passion, with the symbol of the wounds on the leaves, and the crown of thorns in its spiny fruits. Of other customs which remain as simple cere- monies, with little meaning, it may safely be predi- cated that they had in past times a mystic association, now forgotten. The use of holly, ivy, and mistletoe, as Christmas decorations, are of this kind, in the latter case with a date anterior to the introduction of Christianity. Whatever may be its position now, the mistletoe w
. Freaks and marvels of plant life; or, Curiosities of vegetation. Plant anatomy. 438 FREAKS OF memento of the Passion, with the symbol of the wounds on the leaves, and the crown of thorns in its spiny fruits. Of other customs which remain as simple cere- monies, with little meaning, it may safely be predi- cated that they had in past times a mystic association, now forgotten. The use of holly, ivy, and mistletoe, as Christmas decorations, are of this kind, in the latter case with a date anterior to the introduction of Christianity. Whatever may be its position now, the mistletoe was in for- mer times a mystic plant; and, as Schouw says, " It is not a matter of surprise that a plant of such peculiar aspect, and which occurs in such a remarkable position as the mistletoe, should have awakened the attention of various races, and exerted influence over their religious ideas. It played an especially important part among the Gauls. The oak was sacred with them ; their priests abode in oak forests; oak boughs and oak leaves were used in every religious ceremony, and their sacrifices were made beneath an oak tree; but the mistletoe, when. Fig. go—Mistletoe (Vtscum album).. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Cooke, M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt), b. 1825. London, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; New York, E. & J. B. Young
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectplantanatomy, bookyea
