Botanical History Of Mistletoe Is Notet
By JEAN WINSLOW
It is the season for mistletoe
and that's why I suddenly no
tice its silhouette against the
winter sky. As I walk under
leafless branches of oak and
nut trees, the bright green
clumps remind me of how this
intriguing parasite has be
come part of our Christmas
myths and legends.
Actually, mistletoe calls
over 62 different types of trees
home - others being apple,
persimmon and the like.
While capable of its own pho
tosyntheses, it relies on its
host for water and minerals.
Watery-white berries are
borne by the female plant,
surrounded by yellow-green
leatherish leaves. Each berry
has one seed inside which is
surrounded bv a viscuous,
sticky substance. When a
bird feeds on the berry, the
seed sticks to his beak and the
bird gets rid of it by scraping
his beak against the tree
trunk. It then sticks to the
bark and eventually germi
nates. Within seven to nine
years, the plant has sunk its
vascular system deep into the
tree and can attain a diameter
of two to three feet. As for its
reputation as poisonous plant
material — it’s true — be care
ful of ingesting leaves or
stem, if you are into ingesting
leaves and stems. I don't rec
ommend eating the berries
either. Besides, they taste aw
ful.
The actual toxin is a lectin
called Phorotoxin. Symptoms
of poisoning include abdomi
nal cramping, emesis
(vomiting), and diarrhea, re
sulting in a stoppage of pro
tein syntheses in the intesti
nal wall. Also, excessive
handling causes dermatitis,
which may be avoided by
wearing gloves when han
dling mistletoe. So much for
that. I prefer to dwell on its
beauty and history.
It is a strange quirk in
botanical history that mistle
toe is so closely associated
with Christmas, since for
centuries the Church con
demned it as evil and pagan.
The use of mistletoe proba
bly began with those pioneers
of serious revelry, the Ro
mans. Starting with the festi
val of Saturn on December 17,
free-swinging party-goers
hung up the mistletoe and
hung out their morals.
Druids of pre-Christian
Britain used mistletoe in sac
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CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, Dec. 12th, 9:30 a.m-6p.m
(Ace Hardware and Dixie Tire until 5 p.m.)
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And what is your name little girl?
NANCY
Have you been good this year?
Oh, YES, Santa!
What do you want to be when you grow
SANTA
LITTLE GIRL:
SANTA
LITTLE GIRL
SANTA:
LITTLE GIRL
I’m going to be the TOP REAL
ESTATE AGENT and sell lots Of
property in Edenton.
VERY GOOD! Now, what can I bring you
this Christmas?
Please bring me a bing calendar - to keep
appointments on, a silver pen to sign
sales contracts and 20 red SOLD signs!
Very well, I’ll be glad to help a successful
little girl like you.
Thank you, Santa ... And ...
May the good will of the holiday
season be with you and your
family now and throughout the
new year. s'
SANTA
SANTA
LITTLE GIRL
flees. It was believed to re
ire fertility, give magical
jower and protect its bearei
Dm physical harm.
When Rome conquered
Britain, warriors met undei
the sacred mistletoe, laid
down their arms, and kissed.
Scandinavians hang
mistletoe above their front
doorways to ward off evil
spirits.
Somewhere down the line,
though, mistletoe was incor
porated into a Christmas rit
ual. The priest kissed a
branch in the name of peace
and passed it through the con
gregation.
To this day, mistletoe is
placed on the high altar of
York Cathederal at Christmas
to proclaim universal free
dom. One of those liberties is
the right to kiss any lady
found standing under good of
Phorandendron serotinum.
"Kissing balls,” or
Kussenbaum, are more an
cient than Christmas trees.
Still gracing German and
English homes during holi
days, the mistletoe-filled
spheres have vague origins.
The indications are, however,
that they were believed to be
protection from witchcraft
and sorcery.
If you need an excuse in
this modern day to kiss
whomever it may concern,
make a Kissing Ball. Excel
lent directions can be found
in Ortho's Christmas Book,
newly introduced into book
stores everywhere. This latest
hardback is chockful of in
formation on plant material,
Christmas landscaping,
making centerpieces, history
and legends, even hints on
wrapping that one important
present.
Lots of people like to gather
their own mistletoe. Foolish,
to my way of thinking. You
either have to climb the tree
and literally go out on a limb
to get the stuff, or you can shoot
it off. Which could J mfean a
broken bone of some-sort when
you grab the mistletoe and
forget to hang on to the
branch. Or, run the risk of
ricocheting bullets — silly
time of the year to painfully
pick off a neighbor, don't you
think?
Why not just purchase a
few bunches? Save all that
aggressive behavior for hunt
ing your own turkey or tree.
No body cast, no arrest war
rant, just lots of thankful
kisses when finally "home to
the hunter".
INSURANCE
Stay informed...
| read the Herein
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JIM ELLIOTT
104 E. King SI
Edenton, N.C.
4*2-2121
Hie Key Club of John A. Holmes High School recently contributed a check to Mrs. Martha
Guttu, director of the Edenton-Chowan Food Pantry. Officers of the Key Club are Peter
Mitchener, Secretary; Shannon Santana, Treasurer; Chad Johnson, Vice-President; and
Harris Vaughan, President.
Christmas
Songfest Set
Center Hill Baptist Church
will present a Christmas
message in song Sunday, De
cember 13 at 5 p.m. featuring
Children's, Youth and Adult
Choir members. The musical
will bring words of encourage
to believers or introduce the
Savior to those who do not
know Him.
Jane Bunch will direct the
production, with Jake Boyce
serving as pianist.
Pastor Jim Sanders invites
all in the community to come
and celebrate the birthday of
the Savior of mankind.
Call the classifieds...
1financial planningi
SOME EXPERTS ARE FREE
It is not always necessary to spend a lot of money to get practical informa
tion that can make your business more profitable.
You have very valuable business information to trade with other business
people. If you don't think so, maybe you haven't though about it enough. Con
sider arranging a trip to visit other businesses similar to yours, but far enough
away to be noncompeting.
Whether you are selling products or services, there are other businesses
somewhere that are similar to yours in gross sales, product mix, size of
community, etc. Call several of these businesses and ask to visit them. Perhaps
you can arrange to visit three or four within a period of one or two weeks and
all on the same travel schedule.
Gather the same information about your business that you are interested in
learning from the businesses you'll visit. Take pictures of your premises, a copy
of your floor plan, and two or three years of financial statements. Let the other
businesses know in advance what type of information you intend to bring. As
sure them of the confidentiality of any information they share and of your de
sire to trade information; they'll be learning as much as you will. The fact that
you are not a competitor of theirs should keep them from being concerned
about giving away Trade secrets.* They stand to gain a great deal in the ex
change, too.
Take your camera and photograph everything of interest to you that your
host will permit. When you return, you will have financial information, pictures,
floor plans and lots of other information to share with your staff. You may find
that an objective look at how someone else runs a business similar to yours
provides you with new insight into some of your toughest business problems.
I doubt that any business counselor would be able to provide you with any
more current or practical information than you will be able to gather on such a
trip.
SYKES & COMPANY, P.A Certified Public Accountant
101 West King Street, Second Floor Edenton, North Caroline 27932 1
(919) 482-7644
Providing Complete Financial Management Services
CHKYSLER
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Sale Ends 12/15/87
(I
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The Scott Promise
You Will Not Have To Deal Elsewhere
Because...
If We Don't Have It In Stock - We Will Locate It
If No One Has It - We Will Order It
BUT - No One Will Get It Faster
Or Give A Better Deal Than Us.
Winfield F. Scott, Jr.