infusing into it a spark of the fire which he had brought from
heaven; in another story he is himself the first man. In the
Peloponnesian myth Phoroneus, who is Prometheus under another
name, is the first man, and his mother was an ash-tree. In
Norse mythology, also, the gods were said to have made the
first man out of the ash-tree Yggdrasil. The association of
the heavenly fire with the life-giving forces of nature is
very common in the myths of both hemispheres, and in view of
the facts already cited it need not surprise us. Hence the
Hindu Agni and the Norse Thor were patrons of marriage, and in
Norway, the most lucky day on which to be married is still
supposed to be Thursday, which in old times was the day of the
fire-god.[60] Hence the lightning-plants have divers virtues
in matters pertaining to marriage. The Romans made their
wedding torches of whitethorn; hazel-nuts are still used all
over Europe in divinations relating to the future lover or
sweetheart;[61] and under a mistletoe bough it is allowable
for a gentleman to kiss a lady. A vast number of kindred
superstitions are described by Mr. Kelly, to whom I am
indebted for many of these examples.[62]

[59] In the Vedas the rain-god Soma, originally the
personification of the sacrificial ambrosia, is the deity who
imparts to men life, knowledge, and happiness. See Breal,
Hercule et Cacus, p. 85. Tylor, Primitive Culture, Vol. II. p.
277.

[60] We may, perhaps, see here the reason for making the Greek
fire-god Hephaistos the husband of Aphrodite.