106]{45} and that in various European
countries it is believed to possess marvellous powers of healing sickness
or averting misfortune.{46}

|274| It is hard to say exactly what is the origin of the English
"kissing under the mistletoe," but the practice would appear to be due to
an imagined relation between the love of the sexes and the spirit of
fertility embodied in the sacred bough, and it may be a vestige of the
licence often permitted at folk-festivals. According to one form of the
English custom the young men plucked, each time they kissed a girl, a
berry from the bough. When the berries were all picked, the privilege
ceased.{48}

Sometimes a curious form, reminding one both of the German Christmas-tree
and of the _Krippe_, is taken by the "kissing bunch." Here is an account
from Derbyshire:--

"The 'kissing bunch' is always an elaborate affair. The size depends
upon the couple of hoops--one thrust through the other--which form
its skeleton. Each of the ribs is garlanded with holly, ivy, and
sprigs of other greens, with bits of coloured ribbons and paper
roses, rosy-cheeked apples, specially reserved for this occasion, and
oranges. Three small dolls are also prepared, often with much taste,
and these represent our Saviour, the mother of Jesus, and Joseph.
These dolls generally hang within the kissing bunch by strings from
the top, and are surrounded by apples, oranges tied to strings, and
various brightly coloured ornaments. Occasionally, however, the dolls
are arranged in the kissing bunch to represent a manger-scene....
Mistletoe is not very plentiful in Derbyshire; but, generally, a bit
is obtainable, and this is carefully tied to the bottom of the
kissing bunch, which is then hung in the middle of the house-place,
the centre of attention during Christmastide."{49}

Kissing under the mistletoe seems to be distinctively English. There is,
however, a New Year's Eve custom in Lower Austria and the Rhaetian Alps
that somewhat resembles our mistletoe bough practices. People linger late
in the inns, the walls and windows of which are decorated with green
pine-twigs. In the centre of the inn-parlour hangs from a roof-beam a
wreath of the same greenery, and in a dark corner hides a masked figure
known as "Sylvester," old and ugly, with a flaxen beard and _a wreath of
mistletoe_. If a youth or maiden happens to pass under the pine wreath
Sylvester springs