admitted the light of the sun, long candlesticks dipped in wax were
lighted and fastened into sockets along the sides of the hall. Then
the _makers_, or bards as they came to be called in later days, sang
of the gods and goddesses or of marvelous deeds done by the men of
old. Out-of-doors huge bonfires burned in honor of _Mother-Night_, and
to her, also, peace offerings of Yule cakes were made.

It was the Saxon who gave to the _heal-all_ of the Celts the pretty
name of mistletoe, or mistletan,--meaning a shoot or tine of a tree.
There was jollity beneath the mistletoe then as now, only then
everybody believed in its magic powers. It was the sovereign remedy
for all diseases, but it seems to have lost its curative power, for
the scientific men of the present time fail to find that it possesses
any medical qualities.

Later on, when the good King Alfred was on the English throne, there
were greater comforts and luxuries among the Saxons. Descendants of
the settlers had built halls for their families near the original
homesteads, and the wall that formerly surrounded the home of the
settler was extended to accommodate the new homes until there was a
town within the enclosure. Yule within these homes was celebrated with
great pomp. The walls of the hall were hung with rich tapestries, the
food was served on gold and silver plates, and the tumblers, though
sometimes of wood or horn, were often of gold and silver, too.

In these days the family dressed more lavishly. Men wore long, flowing
ringlets and forked beards. Their tunics of woolen, leather, linen, or
silk, reached to the knees and were fastened at the waist by a girdle.
Usually a short cloak was worn over the tunic. They bedecked
themselves with all the jewelry they could wear; bracelets, chains,